Kennedy Ex Rel. Gorton v. City of Ridgefield

I. Introduction

The following initial facts are undisputed. Kimberly Ken- nedy’s § 1983 action against Ridgefield City and Ridgefield Police Officer Noel Shields stems from events occurring on September 24, 1998, when a thirteen year-old neighbor, Michael Burns, shot and killed her husband, Jay Kennedy, and shot and severely wounded her. Earlier that same month, on September 6, Kennedy called the Ridgefield Police Department (“RPD”) and alleged that Burns had molested Kennedy’s nine-year-old daughter. RPD Officer Shields 2232 KENNEDY v. RIDGEFIELD responded to the call. Burns shot the Kennedys within approx- imately eight hours of first learning of the allegations against him. He has since been convicted of the premeditated murder of Jay Kennedy and the attempted premeditated murder of Kimberly.

At this early stage in the litigation, there are indeed facts which the parties dispute. However, because Shields contends that, even after resolving all issues of fact in Kennedy’s favor, she fails to demonstrate that he violated her constitutional rights, we present and consider the remaining facts, where appropriate, in a light most favorable to Kennedy.

During…

dissenting:

I vigorously part company with the majority’s conclusions that Shields created the danger that Kennedy faced and that he acted with deliberate indifference in doing so, thereby violating her rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority’s conclusion is unsupported by the record and our own case law. The majority concludes that in the fifteen minutes between the time Officer Shields contacted Angela Burns and the time he advised Kim Kennedy of the contact, he deprived Kennedy of her due process rights. In so holding, the majority *1068 not only mangles the state-created danger doctrine, it holds that its new rule was so clearly established that Officer Shields should have known he was violating the Constitution and, thus, has forfeited his qualified immunity.

We have never before recognized a state-created danger cause of action on facts remotely analogous to these. In the sixteen years since we introduced the state-created danger exception to DeSha-ney into our case law, we have approved its application on fewer than five occasions. In these cases, we have narrowly construed the exception to encompass only those claims in which the…

Defendant Noel Shields appeals the denial of his motion for summary judgment based on his assertion of qualified immunity against Plaintiff Kimberly Kennedy’s 42 U.S.C. § 1988 claim. He argues that his conduct did not violate Plaintiffs clearly established constitutional rights. We disagree, and affirm the district court’s determination that, on the facts alleged, Shields is not entitled to qualified immunity.

I. Introduction

The following initial facts are undisputed. Kimberly Kennedy’s § 1983 action against Ridgefield City and Ridgefield Police Officer Noel Shields stems from events occurring on September 24, 1998, when a thirteen year-old neighbor, Michael Burns, shot and killed her husband, Jay Kennedy, and shot and severely wounded her. Earlier that same month, on September 6, Kennedy called the Ridgefield Police Department (“RPD”) and alleged that Burns had molested Kennedy’s nine-year-old daughter. RPD Officer Shields responded to the call. Burns shot the Kennedys within approximately eight hours of first learning of the allegations against him. He has since been convicted of the premeditated murder of Jay Kennedy and the attempted premeditated murder of Kimberly.

At…