(Doc. 57 at 2). After carefully considering the submissions of the parties, the record, and the relevant law, the Court will grant Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. James Conroy officially began his new role July 29 and was sworn in Aug. 2, taking over for Capt. Leverington, 643 F.3d at 727 n.5. We do that through the news, information, and entertainment we bring you via radio and TV, on your phone, in your car, on your smart speaker, or online at the new WABE.organywhere and everywhere throughout greater Atlanta. (Doc. 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. 60). Id. (Doc. The city of Roswell is going to pay an outside consultant to take a closer look at its police department following multiple controversies over officers actions. Id. The police department of Kenly, North Carolina has quit in protest at the town's newly hired "progressively responsible" town manager -- who the police chief said created a "hostile work environment." 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. Id. 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. (Doc. 57 at 13). 52-1 at 21:17-25; Doc. The Court has reviewed each instance of speech, and does not find Plaintiff's argument convincing in consideration of the Johnsen factors. Associated Press Therefore, the Court will consider each instance of speech independently. (Doc. Plaintiff urges the Court to consider her pattern of speech as a unitary whole in undertaking the Garcetti/Pickering analysis. 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. An issue is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could resolve the issue in favor of the nonmoving party. She requested that Defendant Scifres immediately cease the offending behavior, and be required to attend a refresher course on harassment in the work place. 1996). Defendants further argue that Plaintiff has failed to establish sufficient facts to prove that Plaintiff's speech was a substantial or motivating factor in decisions related to her employment with the Roswell Police Department. Seattle's police chief resigned late Monday in the wake of protests against police brutality and a recent Seattle City Council vote to defund her department by 14%. (Doc. On August 30, 2011, Plaintiff entered into a pre-prosecution diversion program, admitted to the commission of domestic violence, and agreed that the charges would be dismissed upon her completion of the program. In the following letter to the Lords of the board of trade, Governor Wright commends Noble Jones' services as chief justice of the colony after Mr . Following a pre-determination hearing that took place on January 31, 2011, Defendant Fry transferred Plaintiff from her position as Defendant in the Criminal Investigations Division to the Consolidated Dispatch Center. The Court finds that, like the grievances involved in Hom, the speech in this case involved only matters of internal departmental affairs and workplace frustration, and therefore were only on matters of personal interest. While the selection of the Roswell Police Department police chief could conceivably be a topic of general interest to the public, Plaintiff's personal feeling is not a matter of public concern within the meaning of previous U.S. Supreme Court decisions. At the time of their meeting, Commander Brown was one of Plaintiff's supervisors in the Department. | AP. See Borough of Duryea, 131 S. Ct. at 2501. A new police chief took the reins in Roswell over the summer. 52-5 at 7:20-25; Doc. The subject matter of, and intended audiences for, Plaintiff's varied instances speech are too disparate to be considered as a unitary whole for purposes of the Garcetti/Pickering analysis. (Doc. According to the project schedule cited in CPSMs proposal, the audit could take about seven months to complete. Defendant Fry has been City Manager since approximately October, 2010. Sch. 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Last year, the Roswell City Council adopted the Best in Class pay plan, giving a 20% increase to starting police salaries across the board. 52 at 6-7; Doc. 57 at 2). Leverington v. City of Colo. Springs, 643 F.3d 719, 727 (10th Cir. Throughout the fall of 2010, Plaintiff and other detectives in her division discussed the vacant chief position and the applicants for the position at officer briefings and police union meetings. 1983, alleging that she was wrongfully transferred, demoted, and eventually forced to resign from her position with the Roswell Police Department, in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The police officer identified in the shooting of Daunte Wright and the police chief in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, have resigned, officials announced Tuesday. Defendants point out that Plaintiff has never alleged that the Roswell Chief of Police is an elected position or that Dane Kyser was a candidate running for public office. 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. Id. In the fall of 2010, the Roswell Police Department had an interim Chief of Police and interim Deputy Chief of Police because the officers holding those positions had recently resigned. If the employee's interest outweighs the employer's, then the Court proceeds to step four. See generally Connick, 461 U.S. at 163. Alston announced several times that . She reported that on January 4, 2011, Defendant Scifres placed an article published by the National Tactical Officers Association, entitled the "Chronic Complainers Club, Part One," in her work mailbox. In a proposal from Washington, D.C.-based CPSM to Roswell dated Aug. 6, the consulting firm writes, We understand that the police department is currently suffering from a series of incidents which have raised questions about the professionalism and culture of the agency.. The deputy chief abruptly retired from law enforcement. 52 at 10; Doc. 57 at 2, 4; Doc. Three officers were fired, and the police chief resigned amid our investigations. Plaintiff's letter was addressed to Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry in his capacity as the Roswell City Manager. 60). Plaintiff was eventually promoted to Police Detective, and worked in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Department. As discussed above, speech that "discloses any evidence of corruption, impropriety, or other malfeasance on the part of city officials" will generally be on matters of public concern. The move comes after alleged sex videos surfaced of the chief while he was. (Doc. 52-5 at 4:4-10; Doc. Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203. No. 1998) (quoting Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 147-48 (1983)) (internal quotation omitted). All rights reserved. Published: Apr. 52-1 at 18:2-8; Doc. The State has significantly different interests in regulating the speech of its employees than in regulating the speech of the citizenry generally. The determination of whether the unitary approach is appropriate is fact sensitive, and depends on the interrelatedness of the different aspects of the speech. Therefore, "[a] statement does not attain the status of public concern simply because its subject matter could, in different circumstances, have been the topic of a communication to the public that might be of general interest." The Tenth Circuit concluded that, because the plaintiff had only alleged mismanagement and inequities, and his principal purpose in writing the letter was to air his personal frustration and express his disappointment over internal office affairs, his speech was not on a matter of public concern. Again, the Court considers the content, form, and context of Plaintiff's speech, as well as her stated motivation for making the speech, in conducting its analysis. My daughter was in an accident last night. 57 at 2). 801. The Court Will Consider Each Instance of Speech Separately. Thus, Plaintiff's letter was not presented in a public forum, which cuts against her contention that her speech concerned a public matter. 1996) (quotation omitted). 58-3 at 24:3-18). Roswell's deputy chief, James C. Easterwood, announced his retirement from the department in October. 1K views, 27 likes, 1 loves, 2 comments, 18 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Brendan Keefe Journalist: Roswell's police chief has resigned amid multiple invetsigations by The 11Alive Investigators.. See Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203, 1. 1995)) (internal quotations and alterations omitted). Grant's last day on the job, after six years with the department, will be Dec. 31, 2018. C. Step Two: Plaintiff's Speech Was Not a Matter of Public Concern. Deutsch v. Jordan, 618 F.3d 1093, 1098 (10th Cir. 65 at 3). The Court will analyze each instance of Plaintiff's speech separately, and determine whether the speech was on a matter of public concern. 0:00. 22, 2022, 2:23 p.m. Syracuse police chief Kenton Buckner has resigned. A unitary analysis may be appropriate when the speech involves multiple instances but only one subject. When an employee speaks upon matters of personal interest, that speech is unprotected. Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 670-71 (10th Cir.1998) (citing Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323, 325). 57 at 2). Letter to Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry: December 17, 2010. 52 at 4; Doc. The community would be the one to suffer. 52-1 at 16-20). The morale is down." (Doc. She also discussed her support of Dane Kyser for Chief of Police. Id. The parties agree that step one of the Garcetti/Pickering analysis is satisfied because Plaintiff's speech was made outside of her official duties as a detective in the Roswell Police Department. Mondays move by the council comes after former members of the police department were involved in a handful of controversial incidents in the past year. Id. Id. 52-1 at 21:17-25). (Doc. Further, Plaintiff has not alleged that any of these letters form the basis of her claim. Based on the content, form, and context of the speech, as well as Plaintiff's motive for making the speech, the Court cannot find that it rises to the level of relating to any political, social, or other concern to the community. 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. 52 at 5; Doc. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. at 2. 57); and Defendants' Reply in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment ("Reply"), filed July 14, 2014. (Doc. To be sure, the Court will further analyze Plaintiff's motivation for her speech. (Doc. 57 at 2; Doc. Mayor Mitch Belknap said he had also spoken with Patterson, who said she may not be released to come back to work until February, due to a wrist surgery. Roswell Police did show up quickly, but they are running a scam through American Towing, Inc. My daughters car was parked in a parking lot after the accident. 52 at 3; Doc. 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. A Roswell police officer who was seen on body camera video leaving a 13-year-old boy in a cold patrol car and taunting him in January has been demoted after an internal investigation, police. P. 56(c) and Fed. 2023 www.timesreporter.com. 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. (Doc. Fortunately, she was not hurt. Alfonso Solis was ultimately selected as the next Roswell Chief of Police by Defendant Fry. 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." The mass resignation reportedly caught Mayor Bob Fritz of Kimberling City off guard.