Berry v. City of Detroit - 25 F.3d 1342 (6th Cir. 1994)

Rule:

Municipalities can be sued directly under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 where the action of the municipality itself can be said to have caused the harm, as when the action that is alleged to be unconstitutional implements or executes a policy statement, ordinance, regulation, or decision officially adopted and promulgated by that body's officers. Municipal liability for the actions of employees may not be based on a theory of respondeat superior. Municipal liability may be predicated upon grounds other than explicit expressions of official policy: Moreover, although the touchstone of the § 1983 action against a government body is an allegation that official policy is responsible for a deprivation of rights protected by the constitution, local governments, like every other § 1983 "person," by the very terms of the statute, may be sued for constitutional deprivations visited pursuant to governmental "custom" even though such a custom has not received formal approval through the body's official decisionmaking channels.

Facts:

A jury awarded Doris Berry (plaintiff), six million dollars for the death of her son, Lee Berry, Jr., who was shot by a Detroit police officer. On appeal, the City of Detroit (City) raised three arguments. First, the City asserted that plaintiff failed to offer any evidence that the City's policymakers had adopted a policy or ratified a custom of unconstitutional use of deadly force. Second, the City argued that plaintiff's evidence of the City's alleged failure to train and discipline its officers failed to show any custom or policy of the City that amounted to deliberate indifference to the rights of citizens or, alternatively, that there was no evidence that any alleged failure on the City's part was a proximate cause of Lee Berry's death. Finally, the City takes issue with the jury instructions.

Issue:

Was the evidence sufficient to prove deliberate indifference on the part of the City such as to give rise to municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983?

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court found that evidence was insufficient to prove deliberate indifference on the part of the city that would give rise to municipal liability under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983. The court held that the Fourth Amendment mandated that resort to fatal force by a police officer to effect an arrest was constitutionally permissible only if the officer had probable cause to believe the suspect posed a significant threat of death or serious injury to the officer or to others. The court found that the City's written deadly force policies did not violate the United States Constitution, and, in addition, the evidence at trial disclosed that these policies were well known to all members of the police department. The court also found that the city had an acceptable training and follow-up program to communicate to its officers its constitutional policy on the use of deadly force.