Saenz v. Heldenfels Brothers

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Appellants are the estates and surviving family members of Graciela Saenz and Jose Hinojosa, who were killed when Jose Hilario Zuniga, a drunk driver, struck their automobile. Appellants sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that (1) Deputy Sheriff Beto Gonzalez abused his governmental authority by ordering his partner, Reserve Deputy Antonio Martinez, to refrain from investigating Zuniga for drunken driving minutes before the accident occurred; and (2) Brooks County had a custom or policy tolerating Gonzalez's refusal to enforce drunk driving laws. We agree with the district court that appellants have not asserted the deprivation of a right secured by the United States Constitution. Since this is an appeal from a grant of summary judgment in favor of Gonzalez and Brooks County, this court reviews the facts in the light most favorable to the appellants, with all inferences and fact disputes resolved in their favor. See Davidson v. Glickman, 169 F.3d 996, 998 (5th Cir. 1999). The facts of this case, when viewed in such a light, show that on the evening of June 19, 1995, Deputy Sheriff Gonzalez and Reserve Deputy Martinez approached the intersection of State Highway 285 and County Road 210 and pulled behind a red pickup truck standing at a stop sign. Gonzalez told Martinez that the truck belonged to Zuniga. Because the truck remained stationary at the stop sign for an extended time, Martinez suggested that the officers investigate. Gonzalez, the ranking officer, rejected the idea, telling Martinez that Zuniga is ""always drunk and I always stop the guy. So just leave him alone.""1 A Discussion ensued between Martinez and Gonzalez. Martinez, suspecting that Zuniga was drunk,2 wished to investigate Zuniga, but Gonzalez ordered Martinez to leave him alone,3 uttering a crude Spanish imprecation against Zuniga. The two officers remained behind Zuniga at the stop sign for approximately 15 minutes and, per Gonzalez's orders, never investigated the situation.