D.Mass.: Evidence that officer condoned CI planting evidence survives MSJ

Plaintiff had enough evidence of CI misconduct in planting evidence and police turning a blind eye toward it to survive summary judgment. Santiago v. Lafferty, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49177 (D. Mass. March 31, 2017):

From these and similar facts in the record, if Plaintiffs are believed, a reasonable jury may infer that Defendant Lafferty was not merely negligent in his use of FA and FB in Plaintiffs’ arrests (which appears an incontestable point), but in fact turned a blind eye to what may very well have been the informants’ planting of evidence and, in any event, failed to make any determination that the information provided by FA and FB had any indicia of reliability (other than the presence of drugs where they could have been planted). Of course, a jury may not so conclude. But at this juncture, the record is such that a jury is entitled to draw its own conclusions, precluding summary judgment.