The City . Id. 57 at 2). Defendants contend that such speech was personal in nature, while Plaintiff responds generally that all of her speech is of concern to the Roswell community. She testified at her deposition that she warned fellow officers and members of the community that if Defendant Scifres were to be selected for the Police Chief job that: "Officers would quit. As discussed above, speech that "discloses any evidence of corruption, impropriety, or other malfeasance on the part of city officials" will generally be on matters of public concern. The investigation resulted in a sustained finding of domestic violence in violation of the Department's policy. We have a stellar leadership group in our public safety department, Hills said. She contends that she told other officers that the Department needed to end the "good ole boy" system. 57 at 6; Doc. Therefore, Plaintiff contends, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment should be denied. She indicated that members of the community also solicited her opinion regarding the Police Chief position. 1 at 3, 4). 52-1 at 3:8-4:10). (Doc. The Tenth Circuit has specifically held that an individual's complaints about staffing levels inherently relate to the amount of work that an employee must perform, and therefore is a personal, rather than a public concern. Connick, 461 U.S. at 163 (quotation omitted). Id. Wilson, 732 F.2d at 768. The Brooklyn Center officer, Kim. We brought that pay up so that our officers who were here continued to stay and serve our community, he said. R. Civ. In Hom, the plaintiff claimed that he was fired from the Utah Department of Public Safety for filing grievances against his supervisors for failing to honor his employment contract and compensate him fully for his work. Plaintiff also discussed her concerns about her fellow officers' under-performance in their duties, and the effect it had on the Roswell community. Captain Helen Dunkin, commander of Roswells internal affairs office, will take over as interim chief of police on Jan. 1, 2019 according to Chief Grants internal resignation announcement. Per the contract, the consulting services will not exceed the amount of $77,750, The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported. As a government employee, a "citizen by necessity must accept certain limitations on his or her freedom." She reported that on January 4, 2011, Defendant Scifres placed an article published by the National Tactical Officers Association, entitled the "Chronic Complainers Club, Part One," in her work mailbox. (Doc. The Roswell Police Department's use of force policy prohibits officers from using a taser on a handcuffed/secured person unless there is "overtly assaultive behavior that cannot be reasonably dealt with in any other less intrusive fashion," the indictment states. (Doc. at 466. 52 at 5; Doc. (Doc. 65 at 3). ROSWELL The Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office will respond to all emergency calls in the village for now. The mass resignation reportedly caught Mayor Bob Fritz of Kimberling City off guard. 57 at 2). Connick, 461 U.S. at 147-48. (Doc. Mondays move by the council comes after former members of the police department were involved in a handful of controversial incidents in the past year. "Whether speech relates only to personal matters as an employee as opposed to public matters as a citizen depends on the content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed by the whole record." 60-9 at 1). She contends that other officers threatened to quit the Department if Defendant Scifres became Police Chief, but that she never talked negatively about Defendant Scifres. However, Plaintiff did admit to expressing dissatisfaction regarding Defendant Scifres' management style, particularly as it affected staffing and morale within the Police Department. Not every criticism directed at a public official will "plant the seed of a constitutional case." (Doc. 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.. Plaintiff brings a claim under 42 U.S.C. 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. "To judge whether particular speech relates merely to internal workplace issues, courts must conduct a case by case inquiry . at 1203. The subject matter of, and intended audiences for, Plaintiff's varied instances speech are too disparate to be considered as a unitary whole for purposes of the Garcetti/Pickering analysis. 52 at 6; Doc. "Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has requested and received the . Defendant Fry has been City Manager since approximately October, 2010. 65 at 3). Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1205 (quotation omitted). (Doc. Plaintiff was initially hired as a police officer with the Roswell Police Department in December, 1999, and remained employed with the Department through February, 2012. Conaway v. Smith, 853 F.2d 789, 796 (10th Cir. The Wulf plaintiff alleged the police chief impermissibly interfered with the right of some officers to join a certain private officer club, treated officers unfairly based on their membership in certain private officer clubs, misappropriated and misused public funds, and permitted a culture of sexual harassment. Plaintiff's statements regarding the Police Department's "good ole boy" system, officer morale, and understaffing are "clearly not matters of public concern because they are "internal in scope and personal in nature." For the reasons outlined above, the Court finds that none of Plaintiff's individual statements constituted a matter of public concern, and therefore were unprotected speech pursuant to the First Amendment. 52 at 3; Doc. 1989), the plaintiff delivered a letter to the Kansas Attorney General requesting a formal investigation into the actions of the Wichita Police Chief. Schrier v. Univ. In McEvoy v. Shoemaker, the plaintiff submitted a letter to the City Council complaining about office politics, favoritism, training, transfers, and personnel relationships within the police department. Id. 1984). Dwayne Orrick. Alfonso Solis was ultimately selected as the next Roswell Chief of Police by Defendant Fry. at 2, 3. Village Council accepted the resignation of part-time officer Ralph Tice last week. (Doc. Defendants contend that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law because Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that any of her speech is a kind that was protected by the First Amendment. Id. 2011); see also Withiam v. Baptist Health Care, 98 F.3d 581, 583 (10th Cir. Plaintiff was eventually promoted to Police Detective, and worked in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Department. She stated that these conversations usually focused on the officers' complaints that the Department was understaffed, that they had to work overtime, and that the detectives had to work patrol shifts. Id. However, Plaintiff signed her letter, which expressed her support for Dane Kyser's candidacy as the next Roswell Police Chief. Mayor Mitch Belknap said he had also spoken with Patterson, who said she may not be released to come back to work until February, due to a wrist surgery. (Doc. In former police chief Josh Gibson's resignation letter, which was also shared in a public Facebook post on Wednesday evening, the Kenly officer of 21 years said he could no longer continue with . Id. At the time of their meeting, Commander Brown was one of Plaintiff's supervisors in the Department. Roswell Police Cheif Philip Smith sent out an article Monday demonstrating his frustrations with the justice system. Chief Investigator Brendan Keefe first revealed that a driver was arrested after two officers flipped a coin to decide whether or not she would go to jail. 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. Give today! See, e.g., Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1205-06. 57 at 4; Doc. However, Plaintiff's speech was directed towards the Human Resources Department, and there is no allegation that it was ever intended to be made public. 52 at 10; Doc. program, but 90% of parents are opposed. Aside from naming Defendant Scifres on the first page of the complaint, she did not make any specific allegation that he had harassed her or created a hostile work environment. (Doc. In the Lyon and Grenoble metropolitan areas, and the Haute-Savoie department, INRAE units contribute to research activities at the Lyon-Saint-Etienne, Grenoble-Alpes, and Savoie Mont Blanc . Baden Police Chief David Christner has worked at the department for 21 years, but on Monday he officially retired. She stated that she "was concerned if [Scifres became police chief because] our morale at the department was at the all time low." 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. Plaintiff acknowledges that all of her speech occurred on separate occasions over many months. 65 at 3). They weren't serving the community . (Doc. (Doc. P. 56(c). The 11Alive Investigators also uncovered the attack on a teen suspect by a police K9, despite multiple commands from his Roswell Police handler to stop. B. She also openly discussed her concerns about the Department and management with other police officers and the public. A new officer starts at $58,553; those with a college degree and experience can earn a starting salary of up to $71,635. Defendant Scifres was not present at the briefing, and only learned about the incident after the meeting. On April 7, body camera footage showed two officers deciding whether or not to send a woman to jail by flipping a coin. See Hom, 81 F.3d at 969. 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