Bradshaw v. City of N.Y., 17 Civ. 1199 (AJP)

• Court: United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. Southern District of New York
• Writing for the Court: ANDREW J. PECK, United States Magistrate Judge
• Parties: JAY BRADSHAW, Plaintiff, v. THE CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants.
• Docket Number: 17 Civ. 1199 (AJP)
• Decision Date: 07 December 2017

JAY BRADSHAW, Plaintiff,
v.
THE CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants.

17 Civ. 1199 (AJP)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

December 7, 2017

OPINION & ORDER

ANDREW J. PECK, United States Magistrate Judge:

Plaintiff Jay Bradshaw, pro se, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against defendants after being assaulted in prison. (Dkt. No. 2: Compl.) Presently before the Court is defendants' partial summary judgment motion. (Dkt. No. 47.) The parties have consented to decision of the case by a Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). (Dkt. No. 35.) For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion is GRANTED (except DENIED as to the state law claim of assault and battery against Officer Alphonse).

FACTS

The following relevant facts are undisputed for purposes of this motion. (See generally Dkt. Nos. 49 & 56: Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts.; see also Def. Rule 56.1 Stmt. n.1.)

The November 20, 2015 Incident

On November 20, 2015, Bradshaw was incarcerated at the Manhattan Detention Center ("MDC"). (Dkt. No. 2: Compl. ¶ 15; Dkt. Nos. 49 & 56: Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 1.) At approximately 8:40 P.M., Bradshaw was approached by three Hispanic inmates while

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watching television in the prison common area where defendant Correction Officer Hernandez stood guard. (Compl. ¶¶ 16-18; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 2-3; Def. Rule 56.1 Stmt. Ex. B: Bradshaw Dep. at 28-30, 37.) The inmates told Bradshaw to "lock in," i.e., return to his cell, and "told [Officer Hernandez] to turn off the TV," which he did, even though it was twenty minutes before the prison's 9 P.M. "lock in time." (Bradshaw Dep. at 36, 52.) When Bradshaw responded that it was not yet 9 P.M., the inmates threatened Bradshaw and "call[ed] [him] racial slurs." (Bradshaw Dep. at 37, 53.) The inmates continued threatening Bradshaw as he walked to his cell; Bradshaw claims that Officer Hernandez, who "was standing right there," never ordered them to stop and "was all for it." (Bradshaw Dep. at 37, 53; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 4.)

Officer Hernandez observed the inmates follow Bradshaw into his cell that was "in pla[in] view" of the common area. (Bradshaw Dep. at 53-54; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 6.) The inmates attacked Bradshaw, punching and kicking him in his upper body and head, and one inmate bit Bradshaw on his back. (Bradshaw Dep. at 53-57; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 7-9; Compl. ¶ 16.) Bradshaw suffered a bloody lip and hand, a bite mark on his back, back pain, a headache, and bruising on his face. (Bradshaw Dep. at 65-66, 83; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 15; Compl. ¶ 19.)

Bradshaw screamed for help during the attack, but Officer Hernandez, who was "looking into [Bradshaw's] cell" from the common area and "watching it" happen, did nothing to intervene. (Bradshaw Dep. at 58-59, 66, 95; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 10-11; Compl. ¶¶ 17-18.) The attack lasted five to seven minutes, after which Bradshaw observed Officer Hernandez "still present in the same place" in the common area, approximately "three to four feet away from [his] cell." (Bradshaw Dep. at 58-59, 62-65; Compl. ¶ 16; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 11.)

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Bradshaw suspects that Officer Hernandez did not intervene because Officer Hernandez and the assailants are Hispanic, and Bradshaw is black. (Bradshaw Dep. at 29, 49-52; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 13.) On one occasion, Bradshaw "kept asking [Officer Hernandez] for a blanket . . . in the cold winter and he didn't get it"; Bradshaw stated that "when Hispanic prisoners ask [Officer Hernandez] for things, it's done more immediately." (Bradshaw Dep. at 51-52.) Bradshaw also noted that when his assailants asked Officer Hernandez to shut off the television prior to the assault, Officer Hernandez did so. (Bradshaw Dep. at 49, 53.) Bradshaw admits, however, that he "can't really say" that Officer Hernandez was "being . . . racist." (Bradshaw Dep. at 52; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 13.)

Afterwards, Bradshaw told defendant Captain Bailey about the assault and that Officer Hernandez did not intervene. (Bradshaw Dep. at 67; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 16; Compl. ¶ 21.) Captain Bailey instructed Bradshaw to "lock in," and "threatened to call the Probe Team" when Bradshaw requested medical treatment and to be removed from the housing unit as he feared for his safety. (Bradshaw Dep. at 68-69; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 17-18; Compl. ¶¶ 22-23.) However, "after an argument" with Bradshaw, Captain Bailey moved Bradshaw to the intake area. (Bradshaw Dep. at 69-70; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 19; Compl. ¶ 23.) While in the intake area, Bradshaw claims that defendant Captain Latanya Brown

was deliberately indifferent by (i) threatening to physically force [Bradshaw] in[to] the 7 North housing unit where he was removed due to threats of assault by the regular 7-3 tour officer; (ii) threatening to physically force [Bradshaw] in[to] the 5 West housing unit where he was attacked; (iii) denying [Bradshaw's] request for necessary medical assistance; (iv) disregarding [Bradshaw's] need to be re-located; and (v) having [Bradshaw] remain in the Intake [unit] without a bed for seven (7) days.

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(Compl. ¶ 24; see Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 21.) Bradshaw's intake area cell contained a sink, toilet, and a concrete bench. (Bradshaw Dep. at 110; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 34.)

Bradshaw received medical treatment on the evening of November 24, 2015 into November 25, 2015 for the injuries he sustained during the November 20, 2015 attack. (Bradshaw Dep. at 79; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 22-23; Def. Rule 56.1 Stmt. Ex. C: 11/24/15-11/25/15 Grandoit Notes; Compl. ¶ 26.) PA Jean Grandoit examined Bradshaw and noted that Bradshaw "was involved in a fight with another inmate on . . . 11/20/2015 [and] claimed he was bit[] by another inmate in the back." (11/25/15 Grandoit Notes at 1; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 25.) PA Grandoit observed that Bradshaw had a "healed human bite [mark] in the left upper back area," "a small scratch mark in the 2nd digit of the left hand" and "[t]iny bruises on [his] forehead." (11/25/15 Grandoit Notes at 1-2; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 26; Compl. ¶ 27.) Bradshaw was not prescribed any medication nor was he referred to a physician for further treatment. (Bradshaw Dep. at 83-84; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 27.) Bradshaw's injuries did not prevent him from eating, drinking, walking, sitting or sleeping, and aside from back pain from the bite which lasted a week, his pain completely subsided "[t]wo to three days" after the incident. (Bradshaw Dep. at 83-86; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 28-29.)

Bradshaw testified that he believes that New York City Department of Corrections ("DOC") policy mandates that correction officers protect inmates from assaults by other inmates. (Bradshaw Dep. at 99; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 30.) However, according to Bradshaw, DOC has "an unwritten policy of allowing inmates to assault other inmates and to try to cover up those assaults by not documenting it and reporting them as they [are] supposed to." (Bradshaw Dep. at 100; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 31.) Bradshaw testified that he did not know "how

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many officers . . . allow inmates to fight without intervening." (Bradshaw Dep. at 100; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 32.)

The November 25, 2015 Incident

On November 25, 2015, Bradshaw remained in an MDC intake unit cell that had a rectangular food slot built into the door. (Dkt. Nos. 49 & 56: Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 33, 37; Def. Rule 56.1 Stmt. Ex. B: Bradshaw Dep. at 107, 110.) At approximately 1 P.M. (Bradshaw Dep. at 135), defendant Correction Officer Alphonse opened the door slot and passed a food tray to Bradshaw (Bradshaw Dep. at 113; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 37). After Officer Alphonse handed Bradshaw the tray, Bradshaw "kept [his] hand[s] in the slot so that . . . Officer Alphonse wouldn't close it," because Bradshaw "was trying to get the attention of the captain [Brown] who was ignoring [him] all day, [as he] was requesting to see mental health." (Bradshaw Dep. at 116; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 35-36, 38-40.)

Officer Alphonse "immediately" closed the slot without first asking Bradshaw to remove his hands. (Bradshaw Dep. at 117-18; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 41-43.) "Officer Alphonse . . . leaned his body against [the slot] for approximately a minute or two" while Bradshaw's hands remained trapped. (Bradshaw Dep. at 116-17, 119; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 42-43; Dkt. No. 2: Compl. ¶ 28.) At some point, Officer Alphonse "stopped leaning on the slot with his body," but "still kept the pressure on the slot with . . . one hand," and used the other to hit Bradshaw's left hand with his radio "three or four times." (Bradshaw Dep. at 122-24; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶¶ 44-46; Compl. ¶ 28.) Bradshaw eventually pulled his hands from the slot (Bradshaw Dep. at 123); Bradshaw threw a cup of water at Officer Alphonse "in retaliation" "as soon as [he] got [his] hand out of the slot" (Bradshaw Dep. at 126-27; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 48).

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Officer Alphonse "proclaim[ed] that he was coming in [Bradshaw's cell] to beat [him] up," but Captain Brown prevented him from doing so. (Bradshaw Dep. at 128-29.) Bradshaw claims that Captain Brown must have witnessed Officer Alphonse shut Bradshaw's hands in the food slot "because of how the intake area is . . . set up." (Bradshaw Dep. at 129; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 49.) Bradshaw alleges that DOC has a "policy [of] officers assaulting prisoners and falsifying reports and records and proclaiming that the prisoner[] was the one . . . that did the assault." (Bradshaw Dep. at 133; Def. & Bradshaw Rule 56.1 Stmts. ¶ 59.)

Bradshaw sustained a gash to his left middle finger as a result of the incident...