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COUCH v. CITY OF SHEFFIELD1/9/1998
a, on January 11, 1996, the Honorable Polly T. Ruggle found the plaintiff not guilty on the charge of public intoxication.
"The City of Sheffield, through its policy maker and highest City official in this area of responsibility, the city prosecutor, encourages such illegal arrests and malicious prosecutions by police officers because the officers know that they are not likely to be disciplined when the city prosecutor is willing to fabricate evidence and/or testimony to cover up an illegal arrest to protect the City from civil liability.
"When faced with an obvious illegal arrest, the practice of the city prosecutor is not to promptly dismiss the charges, or to take remedial or disciplinary steps with the police officer(s) involved, but . . . to try to cover up the police misconduct by coercing the victim into signing a waiver of City liability.
"Officer Lesley was never disciplined or even criticized by the prosecutor or the City of Sheffield, except for the prosecutor's vehement criticism of Officer Lesley for talking candidly and truthfully to Mr. Odem during Mr. Odem's investigation of the public intoxication charge.
"All Defendants were, at all times relevant hereto, acting under color of state law and within the scope of their employment and duties."
It appears from a comparison of the "Notice of Claim" with Couch's complaint that the above-quoted section entitled "Factual Allegations" was simply lifted from the complaint and incorporated into the "Notice of Claim." The notary 's certification on the last page of the document states:
"Before me, [Couch's attorney], a Notary Public in and for said county and state, did personally appear Travis Couch, who, being first duly cautioned and sworn, avers that he has read and understands the information in the foregoing Notice of Claim and he affixes his signature thereto before me this 1st day of April, 1996."
(Emphasis added.) Couch also submitted unverified copies of portions of the transcript of his trial in the municipal court on the public intoxication charge, as well as copies of the defendants' answers to interrogatories. Couch's "Narrative Summary" of "undisputed facts," contained in his motion for a partial summary judgment, was drawn from his attached "Notice of Claim" and the copies of the transcript of his trial in the municipal court.
The defendants make a number of arguments in support of the summary judgment. Specifically, Lesley argues that he was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on the state law claims (the claims based on allegations of intentional and malicious false arrest/imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and an illegal "strip search"), under Ala. Code 1975, § 6-5-338, which extends discretionary function immunity to city police officers. According to Lesley, there is no evidence indicating that he acted willfully, maliciously, or in bad faith when he arrested Couch, so as to take him out from under the protection of the doctrine of discretionary function immunity. See Wright v. Wynn, 682 So.2d 1 (Ala. 1996). With respect to the § 1983 claim, Lesley argues that he is protected under the doctrine of qualified immunity as expressed in Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800,102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). He also argues that there is no evidence supporting either the allegations of intentional and malicious false arrest/imprisonment, defamation, malicious prosecution, and an illegal "strip search," or the allegations under § 1985 of a conspiracy to deny Couch's constitutional rights or to obstruct justice. The City argues that it was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on the state law claims (the claims based on allegation
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