TYNIECE CARPENTER, APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG, AND ST. PETERSBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 1989-08-11
No. 88-02243
LEHAN and PATTERSON, JJ., concur.
547 So. 2d 339 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1989) Negative Treatment
Cited by 10 cases

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Synopsis

Tyniece Carpenter appeals the dismissal of her negligent arrest complaint against the City of St. Petersburg and summary judgment against police officer Kenneth Kokotek. The court affirmed both dismissals, holding that the city enjoys sovereign immunity for negligent arrest and that the officer's allegedly mistaken arrest based on negligence does not constitute a constitutional violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.


Holding

The city is immune from liability for negligent arrest under sovereign immunity doctrine as a Category II governmental activity. Officer Kokotek is immune from tort liability absent allegations of bad faith or malicious conduct, and a negligently mistaken arrest does not constitute a constitutional deprivation actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.


Headnotes

[1] A municipality is immune from liability for negligent arrest based on the doctrine of sovereign immunity when the activity falls within category II governmental functions…

[2] A law enforcement officer is immune from tort liability unless the officer acted in bad faith or maliciously.

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Key Quotes

“The city is immune from liability on a 'negligent arrest' theory, as the trial judge correctly found, on the basis of the reasoning and holding of Everton v. Willard, 468 So.2d 936 (Fla.1985).”

Establishes sovereign immunity defense for city liability on negligent arrest claims

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Facts & Procedural History

On March 2, 1984, Officer Kokotek received documents indicating an outstanding warrant for Rosa Lee Carpenter (alias 'Tyniece Andreas Carpenter') on f…

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Opinion of the Court
CAMPBELL, Chief Judge.

CAMPBELL, Chief Judge.

Appellant, Tyniece Carpenter, appeals the order dismissing her complaint against appellee, the City of St. Petersburg and the later summary judgment entered for appel-lee, Kenneth Kokotek, a St. Petersburg police officer. We affirm in both regards.

On March 2, 1984, Officer Kokotek received documents from his supervisor which indicated that an outstanding warrant was in existence for the arrest of Rosa Lee Carpenter, a black female, on forged check charges. The information available to Officer Kokotek indicated that Rosa Lee Carpenter used an alias name of “Tyniece Andreas Carpenter.” Officer Kokotek went to the home of Rosa Carpenter’s mother who told him that Rosa Carpenter was living at 800 22nd Street with her sister, Janet. Officer Kokotek went to the address which was an apartment building. The manager told Officer Kokotek that Janet Carpenter and another black female resided in apartment number one. The manager further informed him that Janet was not there at the time, but that the other female (the one thought to be Rosa Lee Carpenter) was there. Officer Koko-tek and his partner went to the apartment and a black female answered their knock on the door. The officers identified themselves and said they were looking for Rosa Carpenter. The black female (appellant) told the officers that Rosa was her sister. The officers asked for identification. Appellant had no driver’s license and produced only a photograph of herself and a letter addressed to Tyniece Carpenter. The officers concluded that appellant was Rosa and arrested her. She called her mother from the jail to bring her some identification. The mother brought no identification and appellant spent the night in jail. After a hearing the next morning, another officer showed up with the “real Rosa” and appellant was released.

Appellant filed her action against appellee city on a theory of negligent arrest. The city is immune from liability on a “negligent arrest” theory, as the trial judge correctly found, on the basis of the reasoning and holding of Everton v. Willard, 468 So. 2d 936 (Fla.1985). The governmental activity for which appellant seeks to hold the city accountable in damages is a category II activity as defined in Trianon Park Condominium Association, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 468 So. 2d 912 (Fla.1985). Sovereign immunity therefore applies. Appellant’s action against appel-lee Kokotek was based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983. We find that the trial judge was correct in entering its summary judgment for appellee Kokotek. Officer Kokotek was immune from an action in tort by reason of section 768.28(9)(a), unless he acted in bad faith or maliciously. No such conduct is alleged. Moreover, 42 U.S.C'. § 1983 does not convert allegations amounting to no more than simple negligence into a constitutional deprivation resulting in a basis for suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986). The legitimately or negligently mistaken arrest of an innocent person does not support a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979).

Affirmed.

LEHAN and PATTERSON, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Lester v. THE City OF Tavares, 603 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
    …City nor the officer could be liable under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Everton v. Willard, 468 So. 2d 936 (Fla.1985)2; Trianon Park Condo. [*19] Ass’n, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 468 So. 2d 912 (Fla.1985); Carpenter v. City of St. Petersburg, 547 So. 2d 339 (Fla. 2d DCA), rev. denied, 554 So. 2d 1167 (Fla.1989).3 The lower court accepted this argument and dismissed the complaint based on sovereign immunity. We reverse. A police officer is invested with discretion to decide whether to arrest, or not to…
  • Elminer Harris v. Kearney, 786 So. 2d 1222 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)
    …ce the laws. See id. at 1100 (citing Trianon). See also Everton v. Willard, 468 So. 2d 936, 938 (Fla.1985)(no duty of law enforcement officer to enforce the law as to an individual absent a special relationship); Carpenter v. City of St. Petersburg, 547 So. 2d 339, 340 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)(same). We reject the argument that Kearney owes a duty of care to appellant [*1227] where, as in the instant case, appellee was carrying out the “enforcement of laws” function of government. See Kowalski, 617 So. 2d at 1100.…

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