BRENDA K. SANNES, District Judge.
Plaintiff Maleatra Montanez brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Defendants City of Syracuse (the "City"), Police Officer Chester D. Thompson, and Police Captain Thomas Galvin
On September 9, 2019, the Court issued a Memorandum-Decision and Order, (Dkt. No. 156), on the parties' motions in limine, (Dkt. No. 122; Dkt. No. 123), but, as briefing was not complete, reserved decision on, among other things: (1) the City Defendants'
Based on the parties' representations at the pretrial conference, and Plaintiff's withdrawal of a number of witnesses, the Court denies as moot the City Defendants' motion to preclude: (1) Brother Pete, Jamar Clark, Stacy Young, Mark McCardle, Annie Bullock, Indrani Narangoda, MD, and Linda Troutman-Zelows from testifying; (2) Plaintiff from introducing two Internal Affairs' investigations of Thompson; (3) the June 2019 Order of Protection against Thompson; and (4) SPD Officers John Boyer, Jr., John Cavanaugh, and Curtis Brown from testifying. (Dkt. No. 152). Only the City Defendants' motions regarding SPD Officer Jimmie Johnson and Plaintiff's medical records remain pending.
The City Defendants move to preclude the testimony of SPD Officer Jimmie Johnson on the ground that it is irrelevant. (Dkt. No. 152). At the final pretrial conference, Plaintiff proffered that Johnson would testify that Thompson bragged about sexual conquests on the job. The City Defendants deny that Johnson would so testify, but argued that even if he did, that testimony would not be relevant. In light of the low threshold for relevance in Rule 401— "any tendency to make a fact more or less probable," Fed. R. Evid. 401—the Court finds that evidence that Thompson bragged about sexual conquests on the job is relevant to an assessment of Thompson's conduct with Plaintiff. Thus, the City Defendants' motion to preclude Johnson's testimony is denied.
The City Defendants move to preclude, based on her untimely disclosure, Plaintiff from introducing medical records from the "Neighborhood Center" at trial. (Dkt. No. 152, at 6). Defendants have raised several other issues with respect to the contents of Plaintiff's medical records. See supra note 3. The parties continue to work on this issue and, prior to trial, will submit the exhibits to which the City Defendants object for the Court's review. The Court therefore reserves decision with respect to Plaintiff's medical records.
The City Defendants move to preclude the testimony of Elizabeth Elbayadi, Shakina Thompson, Kimi Fletcher, and Jennifer Brisk, all of whom have made allegations against Thompson but did not report his conduct to the SPD. (Dkt. No. 123-1, at 9). The City Defendants argue this is "improper propensity evidence" and inadmissible under Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence. (Id.). Plaintiff opposes this motion and argues that not only is this testimony admissible under Rule 404(b)(2) "to demonstrate `intent,' absence of mistake' and/or `lack of accident,'" or to show an identical pattern of conduct, (Dkt. No. 127-1, at 11), but that it is admissible under Rule 415 for purposes of showing propensity. (Dkt. No. 153, at 2-4). Below, the Court outlines the proffered testimony and considers its admissibility under both Rules 404(b) and 415.
In her affidavit, Elbayadi states that in 1997, she attended a concert in Vernon, New York on her eighteenth birthday. (Dkt. No. 99-15, ¶ 2). She "was a little drunk and not feeling well" when she entered a "Porta Potty." (Id. ¶ 3). A uniformed police officer, who Elbayadi claims was Thompson, followed her in and locked the door. (Id.). The officer asked: "Young lady, if I check your ID, will it say that you're 21 years old?" and then "turned [her] around, bent [her] over, and raped" her.
In her affidavit, Fletcher states she met Thompson "when he came to my house because my boyfriend had called the police." (Dkt. No. 99-23, at 1). In June 2013, Fletcher called the police regarding her children; Thompson was one of the officers that reported to her house. Fletcher states that after the other officers left, Thompson "exposed himself and told me to `come here.' I felt intimidated so I performed oral sex on him and he climaxed." (Id.). Fletcher states that Thompson returned to her house a "second time." He "began rubbing his groin and said, `someone's got to take care of this,'" and she performed oral sex on him. (Id.). In June 2014, she saw Thompson after she had been involved in a traffic accident: "He was again on duty and he told me my license was suspended but that he would not ticket me. I again felt intimidated and performed oral sex upon him. He did not ticket me." (Id.).
In response to questioning regarding allegations that Shakina Thompson
Thompson testified that he met Jennifer Brisk after "she called in a complaint about having some money stolen from her." (Id. at 237). Thompson responded to her residence and "took that complaint" and told her he would follow up with her. (Id. at 237-39). Brisk later contacted Thompson with more information, and he returned to her residence for a statement. (Id. at 241). Brisk alleged that Thompson had "a sexual encounter" with her, which Thompson denied. (Id. at 243).
Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) states in relevant part that "[e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of . . . intent . . . or absence of mistake." Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)(2). It may also be admissible as evidence of a pattern if the act is "so nearly identical in method as to ear-mark [it] as the handiwork of the accused." United States v. Mills, 895 F.2d 897, 907-08 (2d Cir. 1990) (even where intent is not in issue, Rule 404(b) permits evidence of similar acts to prove a "signature crime," i.e., a modus operandi where the crimes are "so nearly identical in method as to ear-mark them as the handiwork of the accused."); United States v. Sliker, 751 F.2d 477, 486-87 (2d Cir. 1984) ("The similarity sufficient to admit evidence of past acts to establish a recurring modus operandi need not be complete; it is enough that the characteristics relied upon are sufficiently idiosyncratic to permit a fair inference of a pattern's existence."); see also Alaniz v. Zamora-Quezada, 591 F.3d 761, 774-75 (5th Cir. 2009) (admitting in a discrimination case evidence that defendant had "a particular modus operandi in making sexual overtures to female subordinates"). The Second Circuit "follows the `inclusionary' approach, which admits all `other act' evidence that does not serve the sole purpose of showing the defendant's bad character and that is neither overly prejudicial under Rule 403 nor irrelevant under Rule 402." United States v. Curley, 639 F.3d 50, 56 (2d Cir. 2011) (citing United States v. Pascarella, 84 F.3d 61, 69 (2d Cir. 1996)).
To determine whether to admit Rule 404(b) evidence, the court should consider whether: "(1) the prior [bad act] evidence [is being] `offered for a proper purpose'; (2) the evidence [is] relevant to a disputed issue; (3) the probative value of the evidence [is] substantially outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice pursuant to Rule 403; and (4) [there is] an appropriate limiting instruction." United States v. McCallum, 584 F.3d 471, 475 (2d Cir. 2009) (quoting Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 691-92 (1988)).
Here, even assuming Plaintiff offers Elbayadi's testimony to show Thompson's intent or absence of mistake—both proper purposes under Rule 404(b)—and that those are disputed issues, the Court must consider the remoteness of alleged rape. The incident involving Elbayadi occurred in 1997, 18 years before the incident at issue. See United States v. Ozsusamlar, 428 F.Supp.2d 161, 171 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) ("The remoteness in time of a prior act, while not dispositive in a Rule 404(b) analysis, should be considered by a district court in making its admissibility determination." (citing United States v. Figueroa, 618 F.2d 934, 942 (2d Cir. 1980) (holding that in a Rule 404(b) analysis, Rule 403 "oblige[s] the trial court to assess the probative value of every prior conviction offered in evidence and the remoteness of a conviction, whatever its age, is always pertinent to this assessment"))).
Further, to warrant admission as evidence of a pattern of relevant conduct, the evidence must "share `unusual characteristics' with the act charged or represent a `unique scheme.'" Berkovich v. Hicks, 922 F.2d 1018, 1022 (2d Cir. 1991) (quoting United States v. Benedetto, 571 F.2d 1246, 1249 (2d Cir. 1978)); see also Ismail v. Cohen, 706 F.Supp. 243, 252-53 (S.D.N.Y. 1989) (stating "specific acts of other misconduct may be introduced as extrinsic evidence under Rule 404(b) to prove . . . pattern of relevant conduct"), aff'd, 899 F.2d 183, 188-189 (2d Cir. 1990). The proffering party must show more than the "mere repeated commission of crimes of the same class, such as repeated burglaries or thefts. The device used must be so unusual and distinctive as to be like a signature." Benedetto, 571 F.2d at 1249. Here, the two accounts fall into the same category of alleged sexual crimes and, as further described below, there are strong similiarities in the manner of the alleged rapes, but Thompson's alleged rape of Elbayadi is not "so nearly identical in method [to his conduct with Plaintiff] as to ear-mark [it] as [his] handiwork." Mills, 895 F.2d at 907-08. In any event, because the Court is reserving, for trial, the issue of whether Elbayadi's testimony is admissible under Rule 415, the Court need not rule on its admissibility under Rule 404(b).
Kimi Fletcher and Plaintiff's accounts, however, share several unique similarities: both women allege that Thompson exposed himself to them while on duty, responding to calls at their residences, and intimidated them into performing oral sex. (Dkt. No. 99-23, at 1; Dkt. No. 99-2, ¶ 5). The third incident involves Thompson coercing oral sex for not issuing a ticket to Fletcher while on duty is also similar to Thompson's alleged coercion of oral sex in Plaintiff's apartment. Given the closeness in time between Thompson's interactions with Fletcher and the strong similarities these interactions share with his alleged conduct with Plaintiff, the Court finds this evidence to be probative similar act evidence under Rule 404(b).
A "[p]laintiff[']s permissible purpose for offering the prior-act evidence under Rule 404(b) is limited, however, in that the purpose is justified only so long as . . . the underlying evidence is relevant to an issue in the case." Carofino v. Forester, 450 F.Supp.2d 257, 273 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (citing United States v. Reed, 639 F.2d 896, 906-07 (2d Cir. 1981)). Here, Plaintiff contends that the prior-act evidence is relevant to show "that the sex was not the result of a mistaken belief that plaintiff, like other women with whom he acknowledged having sex on duty, had made sexual advances towards him and consented to the sex." (Dkt. No. 127-1, at 13). Given that Thompson disputes Plaintiff's assertion that he exposed himself and told Plaintiff to give him oral sex, evidence that Thompson made very similar advances on Fletcher during a call less than two years before, tends to make more probable the alleged fact that Thompson acted in the same manner with Plaintiff. See Carofino, 450 F. Supp. 2d at 273 ("Surely, evidence that defendant made false misrepresentations to an insurance carrier concerning how many times per week he saw a particular patient both immediately after and during the period when he was seeing Jonathan tends to make more probable the alleged fact that he was making the same false misrepresentations to George.").
The Court must next test the evidence under Rule 403. The inflammatory nature of the evidence creates a danger of unfair prejudice to Thompson and to the City Defendants, since Galvin was unaware of Fletcher's allegations at the time of his investigations. And yet, given the unique similarities between the two incidents (and the fact that the jury can be instructed on the permissible uses of the evidence), the probative value of the prior-act evidence outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice to Thompson and the City Defendants. The Court will, if the parties so request, consider issuing a limiting instruction to the jury.
There are insufficient facts regarding Shakina Thompson and Jennifer Brisk's allegations to allow meaningful evaluation and any conceivable probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Thus, the City Defendants' motion to preclude their testimony is granted.
Plaintiff next argues that testimony regarding Thompson's conduct toward Elbayadi and Fletcher
In United States v. Spoor, the Second Circuit explained the purpose of Rule 414 (a companion to Rules 413 and 415) and the permissible inferences:
904 F.3d 141, 154-55 (2d Cir. 2018) (quoting first United States v. Guardia, 135 F.3d 1326, 1330 (10th Cir. 1998) then Johnson v. Elk Lake Sch. Dist., 283 F.3d 138, 155-56 (3d Cir. 2002)) (citations omitted). The Circuit further explained that courts must still weigh the probative value of similar act evidence:
Id. (quoting United States v. LeMay, 260 F.3d 1018, 1028 (9th Cir. 2001)) (citation omitted).
The City Defendants argue that "because [they] contend that the encounter between Plaintiff and Mr. Thompson was consensual, Fed. R. Evid. 415 is inapplicable." (Dkt. No. 159, at 1). Indeed, "[a]s an initial step, it must first be determined whether Fed. R. Evid. 415 is applicable." United States v. Barnason, 852 F.Supp.2d 367, 372 (S.D.N.Y. 2012). Rule 413, which governs the use of similar crimes in criminal sexual assault cases, defines sexual assault as, inter alia, "contact, without consent, between the defendant's genitals . . . and any part of another person's body." Fed. R. Evid. 413(d)(3). Here, Plaintiff alleges that Thompson "removed his penis from his pants and told [Plaintiff] to `suck it,'" that she "did not try to fight Officer Thompson," but that when she "told him `Whoa, we don't have to do this,'" he responded by repeating "suck it." (Dkt. No. 99-2, ¶ 5). Plaintiff says she "was terrified for [her] safety and for the safety of [her] newborn son, so [she] began to give Officer Thompson oral sex." (Id.). Thompson then told Plaintiff "to get a condom" and raped her. (Id. ¶¶ 7-8). These allegations are sufficient to allege nonconsensual sexual contact between Plaintiff and Thompson. Accordingly, the Court considers the proffered testimony of Elbayadi and Fletcher.
The Court concludes there is sufficient similarity between Plaintiff and Elbayadi's accounts of sexual assault to satisfy Rule 415. Plaintiff states in her declaration that in 2015, Thompson was in her apartment in response to her call for police assistance when he "told [her] to turn around and bend over" and then "raped [Plaintiff] from behind." (Dkt. No. 99-2, ¶ 8). Elbayadi alleges that in 1997, Thompson was on duty at a concert and he followed her into a "Porta Potty," then "turned [her] around, bent [her] over, and raped" her. (Dkt. No. 99-15, ¶ 3). As Plaintiff and Elbayadi's accounts of the act of rape are nearly identical, and both occurred while he was on the job in uniform, the Court concludes that Elbayadi's testimony has probative value as similar act evidence under Rule 415. However, in light of the remoteness of the incident and because the Court must consider whether the evidence is necessary, the Court reserves decision on the admissibility of Elbayadi's testimony.
The conduct Fletcher alleges is, as discussed above, see supra Section II.B.1.b., not only relatively close in time to the incident at issue—they are two years apart—but strikingly similar. In addition, the Court notes that the number of allegations against Thompson weighs in favor of admitting the evidence under Rule 415. See LeMay, 260 F.3d at 1029 (concluding that the "`frequency of events' factor" weighed in favor of admitting evidence of the defendant's prior acts of molestation, explaining that "[a]lthough it was not introduced at trial, the government also had evidence of a third incident in which [the defendant] had sexually abused his young relatives"). Further, the Court finds that such testimony may be helpful to the jury in evaluating whether, as Plaintiff alleges, Thompson's conduct was coercive and in countering Thompson's assertion that Plaintiff initiated their sexual encounter. As previously discussed, the Court finds that its probative value outweighs any danger of unfair prejudice.
The City Defendants seek to preclude testimony by Melissa Popcun and Cheryle Bassett, whose allegations were reported to the SPD. (Dkt. No. 123-1, at 10-13). Plaintiff opposes the City Defendants' motion. (Dkt. No. 127-1, at 13-14).
The City Defendants seek to preclude Popcun's testimony on the ground that "[t]he only relevant evidence concerns the circumstances of Patricia Popcun's complaint to the SPD and the SPD's actions taken in response."
Like Fletcher and Plaintiff, Popcun asserts that Thompson was on duty when he entered her residence, exposed himself to her, and "told [her] to give him oral sex." (Dkt. No. 99-4, at 1). Their accounts are nearly identical and for the reasons discussed above, admissible under Rule 404(b) and 415. Popcun's proffered testimony contains the factual details that render her account of Thompson's alleged sexual assault sufficiently similar to the Plaintiff and Fletcher's accounts to warrant admission as a similar act. The Court is mindful that: (i) the admission of Popcun's testimony creates a risk of unfair prejudice to Galvin and the City, as it could lead the jury to the improper conclusion that Galvin knew what Popcun says happened; and (ii) that there is a danger that it would confuse and distract the jury away from the issue before it with respect to Galvin— the adequacy of his investigation and supervision. The Court will, however, give the jury a limiting instruction, if so requested, prior to the testimony and in its instructions to the jury at the close of proof. Thus, the City Defendants' motion to preclude Popcun's testimony regarding the alleged sexual assault is denied.
According to Plaintiff, Popcun intends to testify that Galvin never contacted her regarding her mother's report of Thompson's alleged sexual misconduct to the SPD. This testimony is relevant and admissible to rebut evidence that Galvin told the deputy chief reviewing the Popcun case report that he had reached out to Popcun but that she did not return his calls or provide any information. (Dkt. No. 99-9, at 23). The City Defendants' motion to preclude Popcun's testimony that Galvin did not contact her is denied.
Finally, Popcun is prepared to testify regarding what she would have told the SPD about the alleged incident with Thompson had she been contacted. As described above, Popcun may testify as to what happened. Any testimony about what she would have told the SPD is, however, speculative and the danger of unfair prejudice substantially outweighs any minimal probative value. Thus, the City Defendants' motion to preclude this testimony is granted.
The City Defendants seek to preclude Cheryle Bassett's testimony on the ground that it is irrelevant—both because her relationship with Thompson was consensual at first (and therefore too different from the incidents involving Plaintiff to reflect a pattern) and because she never reported Thompson's conduct to the SPD.
In view of the admitted consensual element of Bassett's relationship with Thompson, at least at the beginning, and the lack of factual detail concerning Thompson's alleged sexual assaults later in their relationship, Bassett's allegations fail to show a unique pattern for purposes of admission under Rule 404(b). In addition, the length of time between the alleged incidents, at least 10 years, reduces the probative value. Bassett's assertion that over a period of months, Thompson "showed up at" her apartment, "often in uniform, and raped" her, (Dkt. No. 99-1, ¶ 6), is, in some degree, similar to Plaintiff's allegation that Thompson, who was in uniform, raped her in her apartment. The Court, however, concludes that the potential for confusion, and distraction of the jury from the issues in this case, given that the relationship was, at first, consensual and the potential for unfair prejudice to the City Defendants, to whom Malenick allegedly complained about Thompson's treatment of Bassett, the Rule 403 dangers substantially outweigh the probative value of this evidence.
The other two points Plaintiff seeks to introduce through Bassett's testimony—her report of her relationship with Thompson to the SPD and her observation of Thompson's interaction with Deputy Chief Rebecca Thompson—occurred in the early 2000s, (Dkt. No. 99-10, ¶ 5), and are too remote in time and too minimal in probative value to overcome the danger of unfair prejudice. Whether the SPD knew that Bassett had a then-consensual relationship with Thompson is irrelevant to the determination of whether Galvin (or the City) knew of "misconduct but failed to take appropriate action to prevent future similar misconduct before the plaintiff was eventually injured." Raspardo v. Carlone, 770 F.3d 97, 117 (2d Cir. 2014). Further, to the extent Plaintiff seeks to introduce Bassett's observation of the alleged romantic relationship as evidence that Deputy Chief Thompson was biased in her review of the Popcun case report more than 10 years later, such evidence is too remote and disconnected to the matters at issue to carry any probative value and is substantially outweighed by the danger confusing the issues and unfair prejudice. Thus, the City Defendants' motion to preclude Bassett's testimony concerning her report of her relationship with Thompson to the SPD and her observation of a relationship between Thompson and Deputy Chief Thompson is granted.
Accordingly, Kimi Fletcher and Melissa Popcun's testimony is admissible under Rules 404(b) and 415 and the testimony of Shakina Thompson, Jennifer Brisk, and Cheryle Bassett is not admissible under Rule 404(b) or 415.
For these reasons, it is