OPINION
I. INTRODUCTION
A man was arrested for misdemeanor crimes after an altercation arising from a business dispute. He brought civil claims against a police officer and the officer's municipal employer based on the arrest. The superior court granted a motion for summary judgment and dismissed all claims against them. We affirm the superior court's decision because: (1) the police officer had probable cause to make a felony arrest, and, therеfore, any perceived deficiencies in the misdemeanor arrest process are irrelevant; and (2) no municipal policy deprived the ar-restee of property, and, therefore, the municipality did not violate the arrestee's constitutional rights.
II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
A. Facts
The Klondike Inn and the Klondike Restaurant and Bar are located across the street from each other in Fairbanks. At the time of the events underlying this appeal, Y & I Corporation owned the Klondike Inn. Harris Yang was the registered agent of Y & I; Yang owned the Klondike Restaurant and Bar, as well as the liquor license for the bar, independently from Y & I.
In September 2004 Yang leased the Klondike Restaurant and Bar to Yong Yi (Yi); Yi's brother, Kenny Yi (Kenny), worked for Yi at the Klondike Restaurant and Bar. The business relationship between Yi and Yang rapidly deteriorated over concerns with carry-over inventory not included in the lease agreement and problems with the liquor license transfer.
On the morning of December 19, 2004, the Fairbanks Police Department received a series of 911 calls concerning the Klondike Inn
The next caller identified himself as John Dockery, from the front desk of the Klondike Inn. Dockery requested police assistance removing Yi and Kenny from the Klondike Rеstaurant and Bar. Dockery's 911 call was interrupted by a third call.
The third caller identified himself as Kenny, from the Klondike Restaurant and Bar. Kenny reported that a man he did not recognize had attempted to break into the Klondike Restaurant and Bar. Kenny claimed to be waiting outside by a red Dodge Durango; the dispatcher told him to remain where he was, not make any contact with the alleged perpetrator, and wait for the police to arrivе.
The police dispatcher then returned to Dockery's call, and Dockery reported Kenny was attempting to break into the Klondike Restaurant and Bar. The dispatcher told Dockery that someone was on the way. The dispatcher then contacted officers and advised that callers from the Klondike were reporting contradictory allegations of attempted break-ins.
The fourth caller identified herself as the bartender at the Klondike Restaurant and Bar, calling on Kenny's behalf. She reported a robbery attempt and that a silver mini-van had attempted to run someone over. The bartender handed the telephone to Kenny, who reported that someone had attempted to run Yi and him over with a truck. The call ended when officers arrived on seene.
The fifth caller identified himself as Max Lamoureaux, an employee of the Klondike Inn. Lamoureaux stated he was locked inside the Klondike Inn with John Lee. He reported that unidentified persons had smashed into the white Ford truck he was driving, and "chased us down, jumped in the back of the truck, shattered the window." The call ended when an officer approached the Klondike Inn.
Officer Lawrence Merideth and three other officers arrived on seene around 9:45 a.m. Officer Merideth observed a silver mini-van stuck in a snowbank and a white Ford truck left running and parked at an оdd angle outside the Klondike Inn. The truck's front and rear windows were shattered. Officer Merideth entered the office of the Klondike Inn and made contact with Lamoureaux and Lee. Another officer made contact with a group of people standing outside the Klondike Restaurant and Bar, including Yi and Kenny.
Officer Merideth did not record his conversation with Lamoureaux, but according to Officer Merideth, Lamoureaux relayed the following version of events. Lamoureaux identified himself to Officer Merideth as a manager of the Klondike Inn and stated he had traveled to Fairbanks from Anchorage to help serve eviction papers on Yi. Lamour-eaux and Lee had posted eviction paperwork around 8:00 a.m. and attempted to leave in the white Ford truck around 9:80 am. A silver mini-van blocked their path. Kenny exited the mini-van and began yelling at Lamoureaux and Lee. Kenny jumped into the back of the truck and used a broom handle to break out the back window. Vi threw an object at the front windshield of the truck, breaking it; Yi then jumped into the back of the truck and Kenny jumped out. Yi repeatedly attempted to strike Lamoureaux and Lee with the broom handle-his attempts were successful at least onee, striking Lamoureaux's wrist and breaking his watch. Lamoureaux attempted to drive away, but the silver mini-van collided into the truck's driver's side door. Lamoureaux and Lee retreated into the Klondike Inn office, chased by the broom-handle-wielding Yi. Lamour-eaux was in fear and thought he would have been killed if Yi and Kenny had the opportunity.
Officer Merideth contacted two witnesses who corroborated portions of Lamoureaux's version of the events. Yi and Kenny relayed
Officer Merideth directed another officer to arrest Yi and Kenny. They were arrested and told that Officer Merideth was the arresting officer. They were not told why they were under arrest or that it was a delegated citizen's arrest.
Lamoureaux signed citizen's arrest forms for both Yi and Kenny. Later during this litigation, Officer Merideth could not specifically recall explaining the citizen's arrest procedure to Lamoureaux, but stated it is his routine praсtice to give an explanation and there was no reason he would not have done so in this case. Although he also could not specifically recall what happened on December 19, Officer Merideth stated it is his routine practice to have the citizen sign the form contemporaneously with the arrest; however, notations on the bottom of the form indicate Officer Merideth prepared the forms at 1:12 p.m. Lamoureaux statеd he signed the forms "within an hour or so" of the police arriving. Lamoureaux stated he knew he was participating in the arrest, but did not know he "had the sole discretion in arresting" the Yis.
Consistent with the citizen's arrest forms, Yi was charged with two counts of assault in the fourth degree under AS 11.41.2830 and one count of criminal mischief in the fourth degree under AS 1146484. These misdemeanor charges were later dismissed.
B. Proceedings
On December 183, 2004, six days prior to his arrest, Yi filed a pro se complaint against Yang alleging breach of contract and other claims. After his arrest Yi retained counsel and filed an amended complaint adding other defendants, including Officer Merideth and the City of Fairbanks. Relevant to this appeal, Yi asserted federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 for deprivation of Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and state law claims for false arrest against Officer Meri-deth and the City.
Officer Merideth and the City moved for summary judgment on all claims against them. The superiоr court granted the motion but did not issue a detailed written order, only a bench ruling after oral argument followed by a brief written order. Based on the superior court's oral argument comments, it appears qualified immunity was the driving foree behind granting summary judgment.
Yi appeals the superior court's grant of summary judgment to Officer Merideth and the City.
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review a grant of summary judgment "de novo, affirming if the record presents no genuine issue of material fact and if the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Yi's Arrest-Related Claims
Yi bases his arrest-related claims against Officer Merideth and the City on his assertion that his citizen's arrest was invalid because Lamoureaux lacked sufficient intent to effect a citizen's arrest and there was unnecessary delay between the actual incident and the completion of the citizen's arrest paperwork. Yi then argues that because the citizen's arrest was invalid, he was arrested for a misdemeanor offense committed outside Officer Merideth's presence. Vi contends this violated: (1) his Fourth Amendment right to be free from warrant-less arrests for misdemeanor criminal offenses committed outside an officer's presence; and (2) AS
We have never clarified the delegated citizen's arrest doctrine adopted by the court of appeals in Moxie v. State.
Officer Merideth argues that the arrest was supported by probable cause that Yi had committed a felony. Felony arrests are not governed by an "in the presence requirement" undеr federal or Alaska law.
Probable cause to arrest exists if the facts and cireumstances known to the officer would support a reasonable belief that an offense has been or is being committed by the suspect.... Probable cause is determined objectively and requires only a fair probability or substantial chanee of criminal activity, not an actual showing that such activity occurred.[11 ]
The existence of probable cause is a mixed
Officer Merideth argues he had probable cause to arrest Yi for the felony crime of assault in the third degree.
Yi argues that summary judgment on probable cause is inappropriate because there is a reasonable inference "that Yi was not acting toward injuring Lamoureaux but rather in order to stop the vehicle from making its getaway." "But probable cause is by definition a standard that hinges on probability rather than certainty, so a showing of probable cause need not rule out other explanations that are merely possible."
Yi's arrest-related claims against Officer Merideth and the City therefore must fail.
B. Yi's Due Process Claim Against The City
Yi argues the City deprived him of property when an officer told Yi's employees not to enter the Klondike Restaurant and Bar after the altercation. When the bartender told an officer she was returning to work, the officer responded: "I might be wrong, but for right now, let's stay out of the bar. Okay?"
A municipality can be held liable under § 1983 only when its policy or custom results in the deprivation of a right secured by the United States Constitution or federal statute.
Neither the City's policy of providing civil standbys nor its alleged failure to train Officer Merideth in the proper civil standby procedures can serve as a basis for lability under § 1983. There is no dispute that the police response was not a civil standby, but rather was a criminal investigation. And we reject Yi's failure to train argument because it was never raised below.
Yi also argues on appeal that Officer Merideth's actions were consistent with another City policy, identifying a policy of following the laws of the State of Alaska. The City's policy of following State laws cannot serve as the basis for § 1988 liability. As the Seventh Circuit noted:
It is difficult to imagine a municipal policy more innocuous and constitutionally permissible, and whose causal connection to the alleged violation is more attenuated, than the "policy" of enforcing state law. If the language and standards from Monell are not to become a dead letter, such a "policy'" simply cannot be sufficient to ground liability against a municipality.[32 ]
Because Yi has not demonstrated a City policy sufficient to support municipal liability under $ 1983, we rely on this alternative ground to affirm the superior court's grant of summary judgment on this claim.
v. CONCLUSION
We AFFIRM the superior court's decision.
Notes
. Lot 04B & 5C Block 83 Townsite v. Fairbanks N. Star Borough,
. Id. (quoting Lot 04B & 5C,
. Parsоn v. State, Dep't of Revenue, Alaska Hous. Fin. Corp.,
. Russell ex rel. J.N. v. Virg-In,
. State v. Native Vill. of Tanana,
. Alaska Statute 12.25.030 provides, in relevant part:
(a) A private person or a peace officer without a warrant may arrest a person
(1) for a crime committed or attempted in the presence of the person making the arrest;
(2) when the person has committed a felony, although not in the presence of the person making the arrest;
(3) when a felony has in fact been committed, and the person making the arrest has reasonable cause for believing the person to have committed it.
. False arrest is not a separate tort, but merely one way to commit the tort of false imprisonment. Prentzel v. State, Dep't of Pub. Safety,
.
. See Atwater v. City of Lago Vista,
. See Maryland v. Pringle,
. State v. Joubert,
. Bessette v. State,
. See Alaska R.Crim. P. 12.
. See City of Nome v. Ailak,
. AS 11.41.220(a)(1)(4) ("A person commits the crime of assault in the third degree if that person recklessly places another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury by means of a dangerous instrument[.]").
. AS 11.81.900(56) defines "serious physical injury" as:
(A) physical injury caused by an act performed under circumstances that create a substantial risk of death; or
(B) physical injury that causes serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health, protracted loss or impairment of the function of a body member or organ, or that unlawfully terminates a pregnancy[.]
. AS 11.81.900(15) (" 'dangerous instrument' means ... any deadly weapon or anything that, under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used, or threatened to be used, is capable of causing death or serious physical inju-ryl.]").
. This is not to say a broom handle is always a "dangerous instrument" as defined by AS 11.81.900(15). But "under the particular circumstances presented here, [Yi] used [the broom handle] in a manner that created a substantial risk of serious physical injury" sufficient to support probable cause. See Hutchings v. State,
. State v. Koen,
. John v. City of El Monte,
. See Thorne v. Dep't of Pub. Safety, State of Alaska,
. State v. Amend,
. See, eg., Devenpeck v. Alford,
. See State v. Joubert,
. Under Alaska law, a principal has no respon-deat superior liability where the agent's actions are not tortious. Cf. Taranto v. N. Slope Borough,
. See State, Dep't of Health & Soc. Servs. v. Valley Hosp. Ass'n,
. Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of City of New York,
. The record does not explain what a "civil standby" is, but it appears to be the police response to a writ of assistance. Compare Mahan v. State,
. City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris,
. Prentzel,
. Anchorage Chrysler Ctr., Inc. v. DaimlerChrys-ler Motors Corp.,
. Surplus Store & Exch., Inc. v. City of Delphi,