Failure to Take Action Against Officials for Employing Unnecessary, Excessive or Retaliatory Actions 31). In response to the actions taken against Plaintiff McLane mentioned in ¶¶22 and 23, Plaintiff Cooper wrote an E-Mail seeking redress of the issue to the heads of Tucson City Government on July 3, 2014, to include Defendants Webb; Gray; Weber; Hayes; Durkin; and Sharon Allen, among others. 32). In the E-Mail, Plaintiff Cooper attached a video of the behavior of Defendants’ Hassinger and Castro on July 1st, 2014, confiscating Plaintiff McLane’s protest signs and threatening Plaintiff McLane with physical violence in their anger over Plaintiff McLane’s exercise of First Amendment rights. Plaintiff Cooper stated: Attached please find a copy of the video of several members of the Parks and Rec. Dept. harassing Jon McLane. These actions were illegal and a violation of the Federal Constitution. The City officials depicted here failed to respect “the constitutional shield [that protects] criticism of official conduct.” New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 273, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964). 33). Even after being put on notice of the constitutional violation and the patent potential of Defendants Hassinger and Castro to engage in behavior which violates the Constitution, Defendants Webb; Gray; Weber; Hayes; Durkin; and Sharon Allen took no action to prevent Defendants Hassinger and Castro from taking further action against Plaintiffs or others similarly situated. 34). The failure of Defendants Webb; Gray; Weber; Hayes; Durkin; and Sharon Allen to take action to correct the actions of Defendants Hassinger and Castro is the direct and proximate cause of the incident mentioned in ¶¶ 24-30, as these Defendants where notified over two months in advance that Defendants Hassinger and Castro were harassing homeless people and taking action against Plaintiffs for the exercise of First Amendment rights.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 01:17:54 +0000
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