Appeals Court rules for Sunset Beach in suit over alleged assault

A federal Appeals Court has ruled in favor of Sunset Beach in a lawsuit involving an alleged sexual assault by former town police officer Isaac Krammes.

The unanimous decision Thursday from the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a trial judge’s decision siding with Sunset Beach in the suit filed by Shannon Mullen.

Mullen pursued “claims of municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights based on allegations of sexual assault committed by a Sunset Beach police officer,” Judge Barbara Milano Keenan wrote for the 4th Circuit panel.

“The district court awarded summary judgment to Sunset Beach concluding that, as a matter of law, Mullen’s injuries did not result from the Sunset Beach police department’s failure to adopt policies prohibiting the officer’s conduct or from the department’s failure to train and supervise its officers,” Keenan wrote. “The district court also awarded summary judgment to Sunset Beach on Mullen’s claims for negligent hiring, supervision, and retention under North Carolina law.”

“Based on our review, we agree with the district court’s judgment,” Keenan added. “After construing the evidence in Mullen’s favor, we hold that the district court correctly concluded that Mullen failed to show that Sunset Beach was deliberately indifferent to her constitutional rights and, so, failed to establish a claim for municipal liability under Section 1983.”

Section 1983 allows lawsuits against state and local government officials. It covers violations of rights by officials acting “under color of law.”

“On the record before us, no jury could reasonably conclude that Sunset Beach knew that there was a substantial risk that one of its officers would commit a sexual assault,” Keenan wrote. “Therefore, any omission in the department’s policies or its training and supervision could not have caused Mullen’s asserted injuries. Additionally, we agree with the district court that Mullen’s state law claims fail for lack of supporting evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the court’s award of summary judgment to Sunset Beach.”

Krammes first encountered Mullen during a 2020 traffic stop. “Mullen alleged that after the stop, between March and June 2020, Krammes visited and entered her home about four times while on duty,” Keenan wrote. “Mullen reported that during these visits, Krammes exposed himself and pressured her to engage in sex acts. According to Mullen, she had sexual intercourse with Krammes at least once in exchange for leniency regarding her driving violations.”

During a drug-related search of Mullen’s home in October 2020, she said, “Oh, I got stuff on you” to Krammes in the presence of an assistant police chief. Krammes later asked the assistant police chief whether Mullen had provided any information, then said “none of it was true.”

Krammes resigned from the town police force in December 2020.

“During Krammes’ employment, the department did not receive any complaints or allegations against him,” Keenan wrote. “However, his employment record showed that Krammes was disciplined for speeding, for failing to complete reports, and for making inappropriate jokes and slurs, including harassing a female employee about her weight.”

Mullen first complained about Krammes to Sunset Beach officials in February 2022. She later filed suit against the town. The complaint alleged “that Sunset Beach was subject to municipal liability for (1) unconstitutional policies and customs, and (2) failure to train and supervise its officers,” Keenan wrote. “Mullen also asserted state law claims against Sunset Beach for negligent hiring, supervision, and retention.”

Evidence in the record showed that the Police Chief Kenneth Klamar “was aware that three other Sunset Beach police officers had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct while on duty in 2017 before Officer Krammes began working for the department in 2019,” Keenan wrote. All three resigned from their jobs.

“The district court held, and we agree, that no facts in the record show that Chief Klamar or any other individual with policymaking authority knew of a substantial risk that sexual assaults likely would be committed by Sunset Beach officers while on duty,” Keenan wrote. “The only prior incidents identified by Mullen involved officers engaged in consensual sexual relations while on duty.”

“Although this conduct violated the department’s rule requiring officers to be attentive while on duty and plainly was not appropriate, as evidenced by Chief Klamar’s recommendation that these officers be fired, the prior incidents do not resemble the allegations of sexual assault and coercion in this case,” Keenan added. “Because those prior incidents did not involve coercion or abuse of authority to compel sexual activity, they did not place department policymakers on notice of a repeated problem of sexual assault that would require a response by those policymakers. Without evidence of a pattern of prior similar constitutional violations, Sunset Beach lacked the notice necessary to establish its deliberate indifference to the protection of citizens’ constitutional rights.”

“We also observe that nothing in the record suggests that Chief Klamar knew or should have known about Krammes’ misconduct toward Mullen and could have acted to prevent it,” the 4th Circuit opinion added.

“The record shows that the first time that department officials could have been aware of Krammes’ unlawful conduct toward Mullen arose several months after that conduct had ended, during the search of Mullen’s home in October 2020,” Keenan explained. “Krammes resigned two months later.”

“Accordingly, no facts demonstrate that Chief Klamar or other department policymakers knew or should have known about Krammes’ unlawful conduct, failed in their supervision of Krammes, or could have acted to prevent his actions,” the judge wrote. “And because Sunset Beach lacked notice that any other officer was committing similar sexual assaults, no reasonable jury could conclude that the department’s policies or its training and supervision reflected a deliberate indifference to Mullen’s constitutional rights.”

“Appeals Court rules for Sunset Beach in suit over alleged assault” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.