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Sawyer v. Coleman

Juvenile probation officer was entitled to qualified immunity because there was no evidence she violated the rights of the juvenile who jumped to his death when the officer tried to return him to the youth development center.

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This case arises out of the tragic circumstances surrounding a 14-year-old boy’s suicide by jumping from a two-story fire escape. At the time of his death, the boy was in the custody of the Department of Children and Youth Services DCYS in Walton County. Janice Sawyer, the boy’s mother, brought suit against Leslie Coleman, her son’s probation officer, and Margaret Laskey, Coleman’s supervisor, asserting numerous federal and state claims.1 The trial court granted Coleman and Laskey summary judgment on all claims, but Sawyer’s appeal challenges only the grant of summary judgment on her federal constitutional claims.

In October 1993, Sawyer’s son, Michael Grubbs, was found delinquent and committed to the DCYS on charges of abusive and obscene language, truancy, violation of probation, runaway and unruly. Michael’s case was assigned to Coleman. At the time, she was employed as a juvenile probation officer and court service worker by the DCYS, working out of the Juvenile Probation office in Walton County. Her duties included supervising juveniles such as Michael, who resided in Walton County and were placed in DCYS custody. Laskey was the unit director and supervisor of the DCYS offices in Walton County and Newton County.

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