Bell v. County of Washington County, Iowa, Civ. No. 88-56-D-2.
| Decision Date | 22 June 1990 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 88-56-D-2. |
| Citation | 741 F. Supp. 1354 |
| Parties | Ralph J. BELL, Individually and as Conservator and Guardian for Sam H. Bell, and Rose Ann Bell, Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, IOWA, Yale H. Jarvis, Francis L. Stigers, and Eileen Russell, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
John C. Hendricks, Muscatine, Iowa, Patrick W. Driscoll, Davenport, Iowa, for plaintiffs.
Elliott R. McDonald, III, Davenport, Iowa, for Wash. County, Ia., Yale Jarvis, Francis L. Stigers, Rich. Allison, Alice Beneischek and Eileen Russell.
J. Hobart Darbyshire, Davenport, Iowa, for Francis L. Stigers.
RULING GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL
The court has before it defendants' motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs have resisted and oral arguments have been heard.
Plaintiff Ralph J. Bell is the conservator and guardian for Sam H. Bell, as well as his father, and plaintiff Rose Ann Bell is Sam's mother. Defendant County of Washington County, Iowa (County) is an Iowa municipality. The individual defendants were, at all relevant times, employees of the County. Defendant Yale H. Jarvis is the Washington County Sheriff. Defendant Francis L. Stigers was a jailor at the Washington County Jail and defendant Eileen Russell is a communications operator at the Washington County Jail.
Plaintiffs' claims arise out of the events surrounding Sam Bell's suicide attempt while he was a prisoner in the Washington County Jail on November 6 and 7, 1987. The complaint states claims predicated on 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which allege that defendants violated Sam's constitutional rights, as well as pendent claims based on state tort law. Defendants move for summary judgment on plaintiffs' section 1983 claims. If defendants' summary judgment motion is granted, defendants also ask that the pendent claims be dismissed.
Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." To preclude the entry of summary judgment, the nonmovant must make a sufficient showing on every essential element of its case on which it has the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Continental Grain Co. v. Frank Seitzinger Storage, 837 F.2d 836, 838 (8th Cir. 1988). Rule 56(e) requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by affidavits, or by the "depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file," designate "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R. Civ.P. 56(e); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; Johnson v. Schopf, 669 F.Supp. 291, 295 (D.Minn.1987). The quantum of proof that the nonmoving party must produce is not precisely measurable, but "the nonmoving party must produce enough evidence so that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmovant." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2514, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Johnson, 669 F.Supp. at 295-96.
On a motion for summary judgment, the court views all the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and gives that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the facts. Trnka v. Elanco Products Co., 709 F.2d 1223, 1225 (8th Cir.1983); Howard v. Russell Stover Candies, Inc., 649 F.2d 620, 623 (8th Cir.1981).
The following facts are undisputed. On November 6, 1987, at approximately 10:26 p.m., Officer Jeff Richards, a City of Washington, Iowa, police officer, stopped Sam Bell's vehicle. After Sam failed a field sobriety test, Officer Richards arrested him and charged him with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in violation of § 321J.2 of the Iowa Code. Officer Richards also arrested Roy Robertson, a passenger in Sam's vehicle, on a charge of public intoxication.
Officer Richards took both Sam and Roy to the Washington County Safety Center.1 Roy, who was seventeen years old, was released to the custody of a relative and was processed through the juvenile court authorities in Louisa County. Sam, who was eighteen years old, was booked and processed as an adult by the Washington County Jail staff.
At the jail, Officer Richards read Sam his Miranda rights and questioned him regarding his activities earlier that evening. Officer Richards also gave Sam an intoxilyzer breath test which revealed that Sam's breath alcohol concentration was .150 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. Officer Richards turned the remainder of the booking process over to Jailer Fran Stigers.
During the booking process, Jailer Stigers took the following possessions from Sam: his shoes, his jacket, a pocket knife, $.40 change, a wallet, and two condoms. Although Jailer Stigers performed a pat search of Sam's person, he failed to detect and confiscate Sam's belt. Jailer Stigers and Sam exchanged the following comments during the booking process:2
On one of the booking forms entitled "Arrest Report" which Jailer Stigers filled out, there is a box which can be checked if the jailer suspects that the prisoner is a suicide risk. Although Sam made the above-mentioned comments regarding suicide, Jailer Stigers did not believe that Sam was a suicide risk. In accordance with his belief, Jailer Stigers did not check the "suicide risk" box.
After completing the booking process at approximately 11:14 p.m., Jailer Stigers placed Sam in a cell adjacent to the "bull pen" area. The prisoners housed in the "bull pen" area could see and talk with Sam, but Sam was the only occupant of his cell. After placing Sam in his cell, Jailer Stigers conducted two jail checks. He conducted his last check of the cell block area at 11:46 p.m., at which time he observed Sam sleeping.
At midnight, Richard Allison replaced Fran Stigers as the jailer on duty.3 Jailer Allison entered the cell block area to dispense medication at approximately 12:10 a.m., but does not remember seeing Sam at that time. A little while later, prisoner Bridges noticed Sam hanging from his cell door by his belt. Prisoner Bridges alerted the other prisoners and they activated the jail's emergency alarm system at 12:28 a.m. and again at 12:29 a.m.4 When the alarm went off, Jailer Allison was in another area of the Center but he quickly returned to the cell block area. Jailer Allison, a trained paramedic, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Sam, restarted his heart, and at 12:30 a.m. he requested an ambulance which took Sam to a local hospital for further treatment.
Plaintiffs allege that as a result of the November 7th incident, Sam suffered physical injuries and severe, extensive, and permanent brain damage.
To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 plaintiffs must "allege deprivation of a right, privilege or immunity secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States through the conduct of persons acting under color of state law." Morton v. Becker, 793 F.2d 185, 187 (8th Cir.1986), quoted in, Harpole v. Arkansas Dept. of Human Services, 820 F.2d 923, 925 (8th Cir.1987). It is undisputed that defendants were acting under color of state law. Plaintiffs allege that defendants violated Sam's constitutional rights under the eighth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution as a result of the failure of some of the defendants to follow the Washington County Jail Policies and Procedures, to predict that Sam was a suicide risk, and to take precautions to prevent his suicide attempt. (Plaintiffs' fourteenth amendment claim appears to be based on substantive due process rather than procedural due process.)
Plaintiffs concede that if the defendants' acts and/or omissions constitute only negligence, such negligence would not support a claim of deprivation of constitutional rights under section 1983. Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986). Plaintiffs must show that defendants' acts and/or omissions demonstrate a "deliberate indifference" to Sam's serious medical needs. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 97 S.Ct. 285, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976). Because this is a prisoner suicide case, in order to prevail under section 1983 for a violation of substantive rights, under either the eighth or fourteenth amendment, plaintiffs must establish that defendants displayed "deliberate indifference" to a strong likelihood, rather than a mere possibility, that Sam Bell would attempt suicide. Edwards v. Gilbert, 867 F.2d 1271, 1274-76 (11th Cir.1989).
Defendant Eileen Russell was the communications operator on duty when Sam attempted suicide. Plaintiffs allege that defendant Russell failed to properly monitor the cell block area via the jail's closed circuit t.v. system. Plaintiffs, however, have failed to produce legally sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that defendant Russell displayed "deliberate indifference" to a strong likelihood that Sam would attempt suicide. The summary judgment record contains no evidence that shows that defendant Russell possessed any knowledge regarding Sam's arrest and suicide potential. Accordingly, defendants' motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' section 1983 claims will be granted as to defendant Russell.
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