Fetner v. City of Roanoke

VANCE, Circuit Judge: Floyd Fetner appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants City of Roanoke, its Mayor, and its City Council members. Fetner filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that defendants dismissed him from his position as police chief without cause and in violation of his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.1 Fetner asserts that at approximately 9:30 p.m. on January 30, 1985, a telephone call from Mayor Bonner summoned him to appear immediately at a City Council meeting where his conduct as police chief was discussed. The following morning, Mayor Bonner allegedly informed Fetner that the City Council had unanimously voted to fire him as police chief. Fetner claims that defendants' willful failure to give him written notice of the reasons for his termination or to afford him a formal hearing violated his constitutional rights. Fetner seeks reinstatement as police chief, back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.