The Roswell Police Department was going through "some tough times," because both the Chief of Police and the Deputy Chief of Police had recently resigned from their positions. Community Calendar From How Do You Atlanta. (Doc. The official announcement simply called it a retirement, but. She listed the date of the alleged offending incident as December 14, 2010. Further, it is on an intra-department personnel matter that only implicated Plaintiff and Defendant Scifres' professional relationship. Plaintiff alleges that she "expressed grave concern for the community at the possible promotion of Defendant Scifres, an officer of questionable character and abilities." 52-1 at 18:2-8; Doc. Id. 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. This speech is entirely about internal departmental affairs and workplace frustration, and therefore only on matters of personal interest to Plaintiff. See Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203. (Doc. at 1203. at 974. (Doc. When the vehicle stopped, two of the individuals took off running. Letter to Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry: December 17, 2010. The Fulton County District Attorney opened a criminal investigation into the intentional freezing of a 13-year-old boy who was not telling officers the truth. (Doc. 52 at 3; Doc. 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. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325 (1986). at 2. (Doc. Plaintiff initially brought claims against Defendant Kintigh in his individual and official capacities. See Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1206 (holding that a public school teacher's speech regarding the school's staffing levels, a school administrator's lack of support, trust, and feedback, and criticisms of the school board were not matters of public concern) (quotation omitted). 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. Therefore Plaintiff's advocacy for Dane Kyser was not "the type of core political speech the First Amendment was designed to protect." Id. 57 at 2). 57 at 2, 5; Doc. (Doc. (Doc. of Educ., 391 U.S. 563, 568 (1968). Governor Ellis resigned his office on account of ill-health and handed over the government to Lieutenant-Governor James Wright, who was appointed governor in chief on the 20th of March, 1761. 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.. First, the Court asks whether the speech was made pursuant to the employee's official duties. 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. 1 at 9-10). 52-1 at 18:17-25; Doc. Commander Brown advised Plaintiff not to discuss the Police Chief position or the Police Chief candidates while on duty, as it had become a distraction at work. 52), be GRANTED, and this action dismissed with prejudice. The Court will analyze each instance of Plaintiff's speech separately, and determine whether the speech was on a matter of public concern. As City Manager, Defendant Fry was the final decision-maker in the hiring, termination, and transfer of City of Roswell and Roswell Police Department employees. 2007) (quotation omitted). 52-1 at 41:16-42:4; Doc. Dwayne Orrick. Id. 52 at 5; Doc. In lieu of termination, Plaintiff tendered her resignation from the Roswell Police Department on February 16, 2012. Brammer-Hoelter v. Twin Peaks Charter Acad., 492 F.3d 1192, 1202 (10th Cir. 57 at 2). (Doc. City residents approved a $52 million public safety bond. dolan funeral home obituaries; beaver country day admissions; how long does lemon balm stay in your system; marlin 1894 tactical stock A movant who does not bear the burden of persuasion at trial, such as Defendants, need not negate the nonmovant's claim. If the Court finds that Plaintiff's speech was not on a matter of public concern, then the Court must hold that the speech is unprotected, and end its inquiry pursuant to Garcetti/Pickering. Again, the Court compares Plaintiff's speech in this instance with the speech that was at issue in McEvoy and Wulf. 52 at 3; Doc. (internal quotation omitted). The memo showed the chief informed the city administrator on Monday about his intent to resign at the end of the month. 52 at 9; Doc. (Doc. Defendants move for summary judgment on the basis that Plaintiff's speech was not protected by the First Amendment because Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that any of her speech touched on a matter of public concern. She also attached a message that McFadden published on a social-media website, which she contends was posted "[a]fter letters of support were known." However, Plaintiff signed her letter, which expressed her support for Dane Kyser's candidacy as the next Roswell Police Chief. Part of that is having the right leadership in place., [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]. (Doc. "To judge whether particular speech relates merely to internal workplace issues, courts must conduct a case by case inquiry . No. Full title:JEANNIE MADSEN, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF ROSWELL, a municipal corporation, Court:UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO. Schrier, 427 F.3d at 1263 (quoting Moore v. City of Wynnewood, 57 F.3d 924, 932 (10th Cir. Plaintiff's grievance about McFadden's outburst and social media message was directed to the Human Resources Department, and not the public at large. ai thinker esp32 cam datasheet; where is gary burghoff now; how did mark madryga son pass away; les promesses de dieu ne failliront jamais; how to tell a male from a female dragonfly. (Doc. Schrier v. Univ. While Plaintiff's speech was intended to disclose employee misconduct, its subject was not on matters of public concern. 52-5 at 7:20-25; Doc. (Doc. The final two steps of the inquiry should ordinarily be decided by a trier of fact. (Doc. She reasons that a police officer's opinion as to who would be the best Chief of Police is important to the public, because the public has a "dire need to know who is leading their police department." 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.. Alfonso Solis was ultimately selected as the next Roswell Chief of Police by Defendant Fry. Therefore, Plaintiff contends, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment should be denied. In addition to higher pay, police are getting a bigger place to work. 52 at 6; Doc. She believed that if Defendant Scifres were to be hired as Chief of Police, more officers would quit and the community would suffer. at 466 (quoting Brown v. City of Trenton, 867 F.2d 318, 322 (6th Cir. at 972. 52 at 5; Doc. (Doc. The Court Will Consider Each Instance of Speech Separately. Having considered the content, context, and form of Plaintiff's speech, as well as her stated motives, the Court does not find that Plaintiff's speech was on a matter of public concern. B. 57 at 2). 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. The community would be the one to suffer. U.S. Daunte Wright. 57 at 2). Id. 2005). The chief wrote in his email to staff this morning, my decision was based on career opportunities.. She was able to specifically identify several officers that she spoke with, but was not able to recall any specific dates that these conversations occurred. It is true that political expression has long been afforded the broadest protection by the First Amendment. 65 at 3). A new officer starts at $58,553; those with a college degree and experience can earn a starting salary of up to $71,635. Feb 26, 2023. They weren't serving the community . "Matters of public concern are those of interest to the community, whether for social, political, or other reasons." 57 at 2). 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. 52 at 5; Doc. She merely stated her preference for who she believed that her next boss should be, to the individual charged with filling that position. Plaintiff was eventually promoted to Police Detective, and worked in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Department. 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. Plaintiff requested that the Human Resources Department intervene and require Defendant Scifres to immediately cease his offending behavior and attend a session on workplace harassment. 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. 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. (Doc. In her letter, Plaintiff also alerted the Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry to her reprimand by Commander Brown, and alleged that her fellow officers feared retaliation if they voiced any opinion regarding the Police Chief position. She recounted her meeting with Commander Brown, and acknowledged that she encouraged the other officers to write letters of support for their preferred Police Chief applicant and told them that "change [is] good." See Pickering v. Bd. 52 at 6; Doc. (Doc. She also expressed her belief that the Police Department's problems would not improve if Defendant Scifres were selected as Police Chief. (Doc. Wilson v. City of Littleton, Colo., 732 F.2d 765, 768 (10th Cir. Defendants contend that the speech was personal in nature because the purpose of the letter was to air a personal dispute or grievance. Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203. In February, 2012, Plaintiff was recommended for termination, but chose to resign from the Department instead. (Doc. 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." Roswell hired 36 officers in 2022; of those, 23 had experience at other agencies. 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 also discussed her concerns about her fellow officers' under-performance in their duties, and the effect it had on the Roswell community. (Doc. 52 at 3; Doc. (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. She testified that while other officers were speaking negatively about Defendant Scifres, who was the acting Deputy Chief of Police, she did not speak negatively about him. 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