United States District Court, D. Colorado
OPINION AND ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY
JUDGMENT
Marcia
S. Krieger, Senior United States District Judge.
THIS
MATTER comes before the Court on the Defendant's
Motion for Summary Judgment (# 30), the
Plaintiff's Response (# 34), and the
Defendant's Reply (# 37). For the
reasons that follow, the Motion is granted.
I.
JURISDICTION
The
Court exercises jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
II.
BACKGROUND [1]
Plaintiff
Jared Dennis is an alcoholic who was employed as a deputy in
the Summit County Sheriff's Office (SCSO). The named
Defendant is the Sheriff, Jaime FitzSimons. On July 27, 2016,
Deputy Dennis' wife filed criminal charges against him in
Park County. As a consequence, the SCSO placed Deputy Dennis
on administrative leave pending an internal affairs
investigation. As a condition of such leave, Deputy Dennis
was instructed that “You are to remain at a
pre-arranged place, available by phone, beginning Thursday,
July 28, 2016 from [9:00 a.m.] to [5:00 p.m.], ” and
that “you are to call on and off duty daily” with
his Commander, Lesley Mumford.
With
the agreement of Park County officials, Deputy Dennis was
permitted to voluntarily appear at his arraignment at 7:00 AM
on July 28, 2016. On the night before the arraignment, Deputy
Dennis and another SCSO deputy, Sergeant Robert Pearce, got
drunk. The following morning, Sergeant Pearce drove Deputy
Dennis to the Park County Sheriff's Office for the
arraignment. Deputy Dennis was given a breathalyzer test as
part of the standard intake process; it revealed a
blood-alcohol level of 0.107, above the legal limit. Deputy
Dennis remained at the Park County Sheriff's Office for
some time thereafter and was given additional breathalyzer
tests. At approximately 9:00 AM, his blood-alcohol level
registered at 0.082, still well above the legal limit for
intoxication. At 10:45 AM, his level was 0.060, still above
the limit for intoxicated driving.[2] At that point, due to his
continuing intoxication, the Park County Jail rescheduled
Deputy Dennis' arraignment until the next day. Believing
that he was not required to contact Commander Mumford until
after the arraignment was concluded, Deputy Dennis took no
further action that day and did not contact Commander
Mumford.
Not
having heard from Deputy Dennis as expected, Commander
Mumford made the decision to terminate Deputy Dennis'
employment. Shortly thereafter, Commander Mumford delivered a
letter of termination to Deputy Dennis at the Park County
Jail. The letter stated Deputy Dennis had violated four SCSO
policies:
• Conduct 400(III)(A)(9) Private Life: Deputies will
behave in a manner that does not bring discredit to the SCSO
or themselves; (this provision also requires off-duty conduct
to be “exemplary” and “beyond
reproach” (# 30-7 at 2, Conduct
400(III)(A)(9).)
• Conduct 400(III)(B)(9)(a)(1) Alcohol Use: An employee
shall not consume alcohol to such a degree that it impairs
his on-duty performance;
• Conduct 400(III)(B)(9)(a)(4) Alcohol Use: An employee
shall not consume alcohol for a period of eight hours before
going on duty[3];
• Internal Affairs 410(VI)(A) Internal Affairs
investigative proceedings are confidential personnel issues
and shall not be discussed with anyone other than as part
[sic] of the official investigation.
(# 30-6 at 1-2.) Termination of Deputy
Dennis' employment was effective immediately. Deputy
Dennis appealed to Sheriff FitzSimons, but the Sheriff upheld
the termination decision.
In his
Complaint (# 1), Deputy Dennis identifies
two claims, but the Court breaks them into four claims: (1)
discrimination in violation of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) based on his termination, (2)
discrimination in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. ยง 794) based on his termination, (3)
discrimination in violation of the ADA based on a failure to
accommodate his disability, and (4) discrimination in
violation of the ...