ANALYSIS

I. HIRING OF OFFICER WOODWARD BY CHIEF ERIC JONES OF THE STOCKTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Plaintiff is alleging that Chief Jones’ failure to properly screen and hire Officer Woodward was the cause of Mr. Cordova’s fatal injuries. The Supreme Court stated that in order for a plaintiff to bring a suit under § 1983, the plaintiff must prove that the conduct properly attributable to the municipality. Bd. of County Commr's of Bryan County v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 403 (1997). After the plaintiff identifies the policy, the plaintiff must additionally demonstrate that through its “deliberate conduct,” the municipal action was a “direct causal link,” the moving force, between the municipal action and the deprivation of federal rights. Id. at 404.
In Brown, the hiring sheriff’s decision to hire the officer was itself legal leading to a “plainly obvious consequence” standard. Brown, 520 U.S. at 407. The plaintiff in …show more content…
The Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate a direct causal link between the Defendants’ hiring decisions to Mr. Cordova’s specific injury under the Fourth Amendment. Evidence of Officer Woodward violating the Fourth Amendment by conducting warrantless searches is a Fourth Amendment violation but there is no evidence pointing to a past instance where Officer Woodward used excessive force. In considering the evidence, at most the evidence shows that there might be an increasing possibility of future constitutional violations but there is no direct link that the failure to screen and hire Officer Woodward led to the Officer Woodward using the Taser excessively. Because the Plaintiff has not demonstrated that the decision to hire Officer Woodward reflects a conscious disregard, that Officer Woodward would use excessive force in violation of Mr. Cordova’s Fourth Amendment rights, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on this