Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 1012055.pdf

Citation: Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 1012055.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
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Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/1012055.pdf ↗

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edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the injury that

the government as an entity is responsible under § 1983.” Monell v. Dep’t of Soc.

Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S. Ct. 2018, 56 L. Ed. 2d 611 (1978). To hold a city

liable under Monell, a plaintiff must establish “(1) that [they] possessed a

constitutional right of which [they were] deprived; (2) that the municipality had a

policy; (3) that this policy ‘amounts to deliberate indifference’ to the plaintiff's

constitutional right; and (4) that the policy is the ‘moving force behind the

constitutional violation.’” Oviatt v. Pearce, 954 F.2d 1470, 1474 (9th Cir. 1992)

(quoting City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 389-91, 109 S. Ct. 1197, 103 L. Ed.

2d 412 (1989)).

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For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/.
State v. City of Sunnyside et al.
No. 101205-5

With little argument, the respondents claim the City is not liable under Monell

because the State has not established deliberate indifference by the City in its failure

to train and supervise police. The State argues the City is liable because it failed to

maintain meaningful guidance, training, or supervision to those enforcing the

CFRHP. A local government may be liable for inadequate training if it “reflects a

‘deliberate’ or ‘conscious’ choice.” Harris, 489 U.S. at 389 (quoting City of

Oklahoma City v. Tuttle, 471 U.S. 808, 823, 105 S. Ct. 2427, 85 L. Ed. 2d 791 (1985)

(plurality portion)). Here, it is undisputed that the Sunnyside Police Department had

a policy that placed one officer—Rivas—in charge of enforcing the CFRHP and that

other officers referred CFRHP matters to her. It is also undisputed that the police