By Anthony Rice
In Frey, a NYPD sergeant sued the city claiming the NYPD’s policy of mandating inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse on pain of termination constituted false imprisonment. The court held that there was no false imprisonment because threat of termination for not attending alcohol abuse treatment was a peaceful consequence for noncompliance.
After a determining that Frey had an alcohol abuse problem, the city ordered Sgt. Frey, an NYPD sergeant, to enter treatment. Frey complied and entered treatment—which was to last until December 31, 2010. On December 15, 2010 Frey became eligible to retire and informed the treatment staff that his service with the NYPD was complete and that he wished to leave treatment to begin retirement. Frey was informed that, per the instructions of the Police Commissioner, he was not permitted to leave treatment until December 31, and if he left treatment before then he would be ineligible for retirement.
Frey presented two arguments in his false imprisonment suit. First, that the threat of termination was unlawful. On this argument the court stated,
[i]t is well established that confinement under threat can give rise to a claim of false imprisonment. However, for the purpose of a claim for false imprisonment, not all threats carry the same weight. The threat of violence, on the one hand, clearly suffices. However, on the other hand, the threat of termination from one’s employment and the threat of peaceful arrest do not.
Second, Frey argued that even if the threat of termination was valid it was unlawful to threaten him with ineligibility for retirement once his employment had ended. The court again disagreed by holding that
[t]hreats of peaceful legal action, or the imposition of other peaceful consequences for noncompliance, do not support a claim of false imprisonment. The cancellation or delay of one’s retirement falls clearly within the realm of “peaceful consequences.” Thus, such a threat, as a matter of law, cannot form the basis of a claim of false imprisonment.
