(Doc. 57 at 4). Id. 52-1 at 21:17-25; Doc. Id. Fortunately, she was not hurt. (Doc. (Doc. 57 at 2). It has been my pleasure to work with each of you over the last six years," Grant said in a statement from the Roswell Police Department. Half of that is dedicated to a new public safety headquarters. In fall 2010, the Roswell Police Chief position became vacant and the City of Roswell was engaged in a search process to select the new Police Chief. 52-1 at 16-17). . At this time we arent going to comment as we are still working through the many issues, city administrator Gary Palmer wrote in response to Keefes request for an interview last week. at 465. (Doc. 58-3 at 24:19-21). Officers, command staff resign after south Georgia police chief arrested by GBI. 60). (Doc. (Doc. 1984). 57 at 2). 52 at 14). (Doc. May 13, 2020 The second-in-command at the Roswell Police Department has resigned amid an internal investigation into allegations she assaulted and belittled a police recruit. After considering the content, form, and context of the speech in Plaintiff's January 5, 2011 complaint, as well as Plaintiff's stated motive for the speech, Plaintiff's speech was not on a matter of public concern. Id. She testified that her motive for writing the letter was only to express her support for her preferred candidate for Police Chief. Roswell hired 36 officers in 2022; of those, 23 had experience at other agencies. According to the press release . The sergeant in that case named department Supervisor of The Year -- was demoted and served a 30-day suspension following the 11Alive reports. See Moore, 57 F.3d at 932 (noting that comments made at a city council meeting were matters of public concern, in part because of the public forum in which they were expressed); see also Eisenhour v. Weber Cnty., 744 F.3d 1220, 1229 (10th Cir. 52 at 14). 52 at 3; Doc. On April 7, body camera footage showed two officers deciding whether or not to send a woman to jail by flipping a coin. 52); Plaintiff's Response to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment ("Response"), filed June 23, 2014, (Doc. She further argues that she has presented enough facts to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact as to whether her speech was a substantial or motivating factor in the decisions to transfer her from her detective position, demote her, and eventually force her to resign. In this case, Plaintiff alleges that all of her statements concerning Defendant Scifres are protected because they question his character, competence, and fitness for duty. Plaintiff responds that all of her speech is protected by the First Amendment because the selection of the Roswell Chief of Police is a major news item, and the successful operation of the Roswell Police Department is of interest to the public at large. Mayor Kurt Wilson said officers want to come and stay because the city has invested in the police. Conaway, 853 F.2d at 796. Id. 52-6). If it is not a matter of public concern then it is not constitutionally-protected speech. Therefore, the Court cannot find that her motivation in engaging in these conversations with other officers andcity employees was to disclose any official misconduct, malfeasance, or breach of the public trust. . She disclosed that she had been admonished by Commander Brown for "talking negatively about Chief Deputy Jody Scifres for Chief," and was instructed to cease talking about the Police Chief position while at work. 57); and Defendants' Reply in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment ("Reply"), filed July 14, 2014. Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203. He is almost 60 years old. Therefore, Plaintiff's speech was not protected, and Defendants are entitled to summary judgment. 57 at 2). 57 at 2). Id. 1988) (internal quotations and alterations omitted). 52 at 3; Doc. Last year, the Roswell City Council adopted the Best in Class pay plan, giving a 20% increase to starting police salaries across the board. A new officer starts at $58,553; those with a. RELATED: Police officers who flipped a coin to see if a woman went to jail fired. Anciennes mines de La Mure (Le Villaret-Susville, Prunires, Saint-Arey) "South of Grenoble on the N85. Here, Plaintiff's speech took the form of a private letter addressed to only two public officials. Plaintiff's letter was addressed to Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry in his capacity as the Roswell City Manager. In this instance, the subject matter of Plaintiff's speech was that Defendant Scifres distributed an article that offended her, and the stated purpose of Plaintiff's speech was to file a grievance against Defendant Scifres and complain about a hostile work environment. Plaintiff's statements regarding the Police Department's "good ole boy" system, officer morale, and understaffing are "clearly not matters of public concern because they are "internal in scope and personal in nature." As a government employee, a "citizen by necessity must accept certain limitations on his or her freedom." Tim Gannon, the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police chief, resigned on Tuesday, just one day after he said he had no plans to give in to calls for him to step down. 1988). She maintains that all of her statements questioning the advancement of Defendant Scifres constituted protected speech because she spoke out on Police Department matters of serious concerns to the Roswell community. Indus. See Panis, 60 F.3d at 1490. Associated Press 65 at 3). (quotation omitted). (Doc. (Doc. Plaintiff responds that the speech was a matter of public concern because it was on the subject of who would be best able to run the Roswell Police Department, which is "a major news item." Id. Roswell Police Chief Rusty Grant will resign at the end of the month, according to an internal email obtained by 11Alive investigators. Chief Frank McCall's last day will be Feb. 24, after which, Ferguson. at 148 (alterations omitted). Plaintiff was initially hired as a police officer with the Roswell Police Department in December, 1999, and remained employed with the Department through February, 2012. The 11Alive Investigators also uncovered the attack on a teen suspect by a police K9, despite multiple commands from his Roswell Police handler to stop. She argues that the Court should consider all of her speech together for the reasons that she "brought letters to the Mayor and City Manager" and talked to other officers and citizens. 1 at 4). Conroy said when he started, there were many vacancies. The Tenth Circuit has observed that political speech involves advocacy of a particular candidate for public office, while emphasizing that courts place the greatest value upon political speech in the electoral process. She went off-duty in February. It also attracted those great officers from other departments looking to make a move.. 57 at 2, 4; Doc. (Doc. Roswell Police Chief Rusty Grant will resign at the end of the month, according to an internal email obtained by 11Alive investigators. See Johnsen v. Indep. R. Civ. 52-4 at 4:4-16). Before coming to Roswell, Grant had more than 30 years of law enforcement experience with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. See, e.g., Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1205-06. We brought that pay up so that our officers who were here continued to stay and serve our community, he said. A Florida police chief who flashed her badge and asked to be let go from a traffic stop has resigned, Tampa officials said Monday. Id. Plaintiff brings a claim under 42 U.S.C. See Borough of Duryea, 131 S. Ct. at 2501. Thus, the Court finds that, given the content, form, and context of Plaintiff's speech, along with her stated motivation in making the speech, these conversations did not touch on matters of public concern, and were unprotected speech. A citizen's ability to make her own "assessment of a candidate's qualifications for public office is integral to the operation of the system of government" which is protected by the First Amendment. (Doc. Per the contract, the consulting services will not exceed the amount of $77,750, The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249. 60-9 at 1; Doc. 60). 52 at 6-7; Doc. (Doc. Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1205 (quotation omitted). Complaint to the Human Resources Department: January 28, 2011. The Wulf plaintiff alleged the police chief impermissibly interfered with the right of some officers to join a certain private officer club, treated officers unfairly based on their membership in certain private officer clubs, misappropriated and misused public funds, and permitted a culture of sexual harassment. 52-5 at 7:14-19; Doc. 57 at 2). Captain Helen Dunkin, commander of Roswells internal affairs office, will take over as interim chief of police on Jan. 1, 2019 according to Chief Grants internal resignation announcement. The official announcement simply called it a retirement, but. Aside from naming Defendant Scifres on the first page of the complaint, she did not make any specific allegation that he had harassed her or created a hostile work environment. (Doc. She stated that some officers in the department were fearful of being retaliated against if they wrote letters in support of anyone for Police Chief. . 52 at 3; Doc. 0:00. 5, 149 F.3d 1228, 1233 (10th Cir. R. CIV. Nearly three months shy of his two year anniversary with the city, Roswell Police Chief Dwayne Orrick is no longer with the Roswell Police Department, according to city officials.. Dist. 52 at 8; Doc. Plaintiff testified during her deposition that the Roswell Police Department officers brought up the Department's low morale on a daily basis, usually in the briefing area of the Department. DPD moved to fire cop hit with 85 complaints, accusations. 1 at 8). New clues: New video shows stranger using mans debit card after he vanishes on business trip, Georgia elementary school principal arrested on child cruelty charges, GBI says, Local district wants to overhaul sex ed. Conaway v. Smith, 853 F.2d 789, 796 (10th Cir. Specifically, Defendants allege that Plaintiff has not shown that her speech touched on matters of public concern. Officer Victor Aguirre is one of the departments newest hires, joining in December. Id. Plaintiff was concerned about who the next Chief of Police would be because she believed that the morale of the Department was low, which impacted the officers' ability to serve the community. She was chosen for the position following the retirement of Rusty Grant at the end of 2018. (Doc. These letters purported to express several police officers' preferences for the new Roswell Police Chief. 57 at 13). 52 at 5; Doc. That story went global, and resulted in the firing of both officers who had faced only verbal counseling prior to our reporting. 65). The two represented the entire village force. 57 at 11-12). She contends that other officers threatened to quit the Department if Defendant Scifres became Police Chief, but that she never talked negatively about Defendant Scifres. While the Court concedes that the operation of the Roswell Police Department constitutes a legitimate subject of public concern, Plaintiff's letter failed to "sufficiently inform the issue as to be helpful to the public in evaluating the conduct of government." 65 at 3). See Hom, 81 F.3d at 969. However, if the speech is a matter of public concern, the Court should proceed to step three and decide whether the employee's interest in commenting on the issue outweighs those of the state as the employer. Roswell police say Moreno was with the department for a year and a half he resigned from the department once the investigation began. She also discussed issues of understaffing and department morale with other officers at officer briefings and at police union meetings. Speech may involve a public concern when the speaker intends to "'bring to light actual or potential wrongdoing or breach of public trust'" by a public officer, or to disclose "evidence of corruption, impropriety, or other malfeasance" within a governmental entity. The message is not directed toward Plaintiff, but generally toward people dissatisfied with their jobs. (Doc. Toggle navigation Brammer-Hoelter v. Twin Peaks Charter Acad., 492 F.3d 1192, 1202 (10th Cir. The State has significantly different interests in regulating the speech of its employees than in regulating the speech of the citizenry generally. See id. 1 at 8). However, when asked to provide specific information regarding the facts underlying her complaint, she only described events that occurred on January 3, 2011 that involved McFadden. For the reasons outlined above, the Court finds that none of Plaintiff's individual statements constituted a matter of public concern, and therefore were unprotected speech pursuant to the First Amendment. Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 670-71 (10th Cir.1998) (citing Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323, 325). Your support is what keeps WABE strong. Alston announced several times that . Feb 26, 2023. The Roswell Police Department's use of force policy prohibits officers from using a taser on a handcuffed/secured person unless there is "overtly assaultive behavior that cannot be reasonably dealt with in any other less intrusive fashion," the indictment states. Robert Cohen Taylor Tiamoyo Harris FERGUSON The city of Ferguson confirmed on Thursday its police chief resigned. A unitary analysis may be appropriate when the speech involves multiple instances but only one subject. (quotation omitted). P. 73, the parties have consented to have this Court serve as the presiding judge and conduct all proceedings, including trial. Id. In the proposal to Roswell, it says it will conduct data-driven analysis, identify and recommend appropriate staffing levels, review policies and procedures, examine the departments organizational structure and culture, recommend a management framework to ensure accountability, conduct interviews, review internal affairs and conduct other analysis of the department. Defendant Scifres was not present at the briefing, and only learned about the incident after the meeting. On March 10, officers pulled over an off-duty officer and let him go after he admitted to speeding and drinking under the influence of alcohol. In considering the speaker's motivation in making the statements, the Court analyzes whether the speech was calculated to disclose misconduct, wrongdoing, inefficiency, or other malfeasance on the part of government officials in the conduct of their official duties, Lancaster, 149 F.3d at 1234, or merely dealt with personal disputes unrelated to the public's interest. Alfonso Solis was ultimately selected as the next Roswell Chief of Police by Defendant Fry. 65 at 3). Therefore, the Court does not consider them. Generally, the subject matter of the speech at issue, as described by Plaintiff, consists of vague recollections touching on officer morale, understaffing, shift hours, the quality of other officers' work, and her subjective belief about what would happen if Defendant Scifres were to be hired as Police Chief. The Minnesota police chief who oversaw an officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop on Sunday has resigned. 57 at 2). 57 at 6; Doc. (Doc. Roswell police officers responded at 3:33 p.m. Friday to a reported disturbance at 185 Spring Drive. Id. The Court agrees with Defendants that the unsigned, unauthenticated letters, submitted by unknown declarants, and Plaintiff's testimony regarding the same, fall within the prohibition against hearsay. The Court must consider relevant factors, such as the time frame in which the speech occurred, the audiences to which the speech was directed, the continuity of the speech, and the degree to which the different aspects of the speech created a cumulative impact on the government employer. She testified at her deposition that she warned fellow officers and members of the community that if Defendant Scifres were to be selected for the Police Chief job that: "Officers would quit. She believed that if Defendant Scifres were to be hired as Chief of Police, more officers would quit and the community would suffer. 52 at 5; Doc. LOWELL, Mich. (WOOD) The Lowell police chief was forced to resign just days after a controversial Facebook post that supported four young men who had armed themselves against potential . (Doc. Therefore, Defendant Fry was the final authority on the selection of the next Roswell Police Chief. The Department subsequently conducted an internal investigation, and transferred Plaintiff into a police radio dispatcher position pending the outcome of the investigation. The Court looks to content, form, and context of the speech, and considers the motivation of the speaker, in determining whether it was on a matter of public or personal concern. (Doc. Deciding whether Plaintiff's letter was on a matter of public concern, in consideration of the content, form, and context of the speech alone, is a close call in this case. 57 at 14). Last year, the Roswell City Council adopted the "Best in Class" pay plan, giving a 20% increase to starting police salaries across the board. (quotation omitted). Id. When a government employee speaks on a matter of public concern, her employer may only restrict her speech because it is necessary for the efficient and effective delivery of services. A copy of the article was not provided to the Court, and therefore its substance is unknown. at 15. "Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has requested and received the . On December 17, 2010, Plaintiff delivered a number of letters from police officers to Roswell Mayor Del Jurney and Defendant Fry. R. CIV. The Court cannot find that these facts fit within the category of political speech that the U.S. Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit have held is protected as political speech by the First Amendment. (Doc. (Doc. 801. Chad Cole, assistant superintendent for finance and operations at Roswell Independent School District, has been named by Roswell Mayor Timothy Jennings as his choice as the new city manager. 60). (Doc. Roswell's deputy chief, James C. Easterwood, announced his retirement from the department in October. 57 at 4; Doc. The Roswell Police Department has a new acting chief of police, after Chief Rusty Grant resigned earlier this month. The mere existence of some evidence in support of the nonmoving party, however, will not be sufficient for denial of a motion for summary judgment; there must be enough evidence to enable a jury to reasonably find for the nonmoving party on that issue. When the vehicle stopped, two of the individuals took off running. (Doc. The Court has reviewed all of the exhibits attached to the Response, and cannot find any corresponding documents to support Plaintiff's contention, and therefore, does not consider this to be an undisputed fact. Writing the letter was addressed to Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry was the authority! Camera footage showed two officers deciding whether or not to send a to! 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