Brown v. United States
| Decision Date | 15 November 2012 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 11-4421 (RBK) |
| Parties | DEMETRIUS BROWN, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
APPEARANCES:
Plaintiff prose
Demetrius Brown
Plaintiff Demetrius Brown, a prisoner currently confined at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix, New Jersey, seeks to bring this action pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), alleging violations of his constitutional rights.
At this time, the Court must review the Complaint to determine whether it should be dismissed as frivolous or malicious, for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or because it seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.
The following factual allegations are taken from Plaintiff's Complaint and attachments and are accepted as true for purposes of this review.
Apparently during late 2009 and early 2010, a substantial amount of contraband, including cell phones and tobacco, was circulating throughout the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix, New Jersey, prompting prison officials to impose unit-wide restrictions upon the discovery of such contraband. Plaintiff alleges that on January 26, 2010, a series of disturbances occurred in the East Side, consisting of several housing units. Specifically, at the beginning of the 4:00 p.m. stand-up count, Unit 5703 inmates activated multiple pull-station fire alarms in the housing unit, disrupting normal operations and the taking of the count. Thereafter, a Disturbance Control Team ("DCT") was called to assist in clearing Unit 5703 and to conduct a mass shakedown of the housing unit. Other staff conducted interviews of the inmates. At the conclusion of the shakedown and interviews, the inmates were returned to their housing unit. Two inmates were placed in the Special Housing Unit ("SHU") for disorderly behavior.
On January 27, 2010, based on information gathered in the initial interviews, prison staff conducted follow-up interviews of the inmates. At the conclusion of these follow-up interviews,eight inmates were scheduled to be placed immediately into the Special Housing Unit ("SHU").
As the follow-up interviews were being conducted on January 27, 2010, all but 15 of the 334 inmates at the Satellite Camp refused to attend the noon meal. At the conclusion of interviews at the Satellite Camp, which included the issue of inmates circulating contraband, 42 inmates were scheduled for placement at the SHU and were transported there by bus.
On January 28, 2010, to relieve overcrowding at the SHU, 40 inmates were bussed to the Federal Medical Center at Devens, Massachusetts, pending transfer to another facility.
Later that day, fire-alarm pull stations were activated once in Unit 5703 and twice in Unit 5711. Also, in Unit 5703, the fire suppression sprinkler head located outside the unit team office corridor was broken, causing flooding in this area. The DCT again escorted inmates from the unit for interviews and conducted a shakedown search of Unit 5711. DCT staff transported an additional 34 inmates from Units 5703 and 5711 to SHU.
As interviews were being conducted of Unit 5711 inmates, a fire-alarm pull station in Unit 5702 was activated. Staff interviewed Unit 5702 inmates, and one inmate from Unit 5702 was placed in SHU for attempting to disrupt the interviews.
On January 29, 2010, to relieve overcrowding in SHU, 39 inmates were transported to the Metropolitan Detention Center inBrooklyn, New York. Later, an additional 34 inmates from Unit 5711 and two inmates from Unit 5702 were placed in SHU.1
On February 3, 2010, to relieve overcrowding in SHU, 40 inmates were transported to FMC at Devens, Massachusetts. Following their departure, 40 inmates from Unit 5702 were placed in the SHU.
Plaintiff alleges that from January 26 through 29, 2010, over 700 inmates were interviewed in connection with the repeated activation of fire-alarms and with the introduction of contraband into the housing units. Plaintiff alleges that inmates identified as being involved in either contraband trafficking or disruptive activity were placed in the SHU. Plaintiff alleges that inmates who "boisterously" resisted the interviews or shakedowns were also placed in SHU.2 Nevertheless, Plaintiff alleges that, due to a lack of evidence, individual incident reports were not issued. Plaintiff alleges that no hearings related to the SHU placements were conducted and that no Administrative Detention Orders were issued.
Plaintiff alleges that he returned to F.C.I. Fort Dix on May12, 2010, after 97 days at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Plaintiff alleges that he was then told that he had a Public Safety Factor ("PSF") which prevented him from being placed in a camp placement. Plaintiff alleges that he requested that his case manager F. Oleson submit him for consideration to the Designation Sentence Computation Center for a PSF waiver; but Oleson refused to do so.
Plaintiff alleges that he has exhausted his administrative remedies. Plaintiff alleges that from the date of his return to F.C.I. Fort Dix, on May 12, 2010, until July 15, 2010, he attempted to informally resolve issues related to his Administrative Detention with Case Manager Oleson. Plaintiff alleges that Counselor Reyes lost Plaintiff's first BP-8 Informal Resolution Form3 and issued another to Plaintiff on July 15, 2010. Plaintiff alleges that he submitted the complete BP-8 to Counselor Reyes on July 20, 2010. The complaint raised in the BP-8 read as follows:
I am complaining that Captain Janel Fitzgerald and other unknown Bureau of Prison (BOP) officials have violated my rights to Due Process and Equal Protection by failing to provide me with an Administrative Detention Order for my detention occurring between the dates 1/27/10 and 5/12/10 and for failing to allow me access and retention of authorized property while indetention. - As a result, I am requesting that I be reimbursed the amount of $567.90 for monies loaned to repurchase property while in detention and that I be paid the amount of $75.00 for loss-time wages for work missed due to the Administrative Detention. Also, I am requesting that I be placed back/returned to the job assignment in "labor Pool" and that I be returned to a bottom bed bunk assignment. Moreover, I am requesting that I be restored to whole as a result of the Administrative Detention and in light of the fact that I have not received an incident report following such.
(Complaint, Ex. A.) Plaintiff received an undated response that indicated that he could receive a copy of the administrative segregation order for the pending investigation for the period of January 27, 2010, to May 12, 2010, that he could file a tort claim for his missing property, that he was not entitled to lost wages, and that there was not an available labor pool position for him. On September 1, 2010, Plaintiff appealed. On September 3, 2010, the appeal was rejected on the grounds that the initial BP-8 was untimely.
Plaintiff names as defendants the United States of America, Warden Donna Zickefoose, Associate Warden Jacqueline B. Nichols, Captain Janel Fitzgerald, Special Investigative Agent D. Adams, Unit Manager Mr. McKinnon, Case Manager Mr. Emmert, Counselor Tracy Sims, Case Manager Mr. Oleson, and "Unknown Other Bureau of Prison Officials." Plaintiff asserts the following claims: (Count 1) Plaintiff alleges that Defendants Donna Zickefoose, Jacqueline B. Nichols, Janel Fitzgerald, D. Adams, Mr. McKinnon, Mr. Emmert, Tracy Sims, and other unknown Bureau of PrisonsOfficials conspired to discriminate and deprive Plaintiff of equal protection by "Administratively Detaining him without Order for punitive reasons that he individually and as a member of a class of inmates reserved his right not to 'inform'/cooperate with authorities" on the probability that such cooperation would have violated his Fifth Amendment privileges against self-incrimination, all in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, 28 C.F.R. § 541.12(1) and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 389 (1971); (Count 2) Plaintiff alleges that Defendants Donna Zickefoose, Jacqueline B. Nichols, Janel Fitzgerald, D. Adams, Mr. McKinnon, Mr. Emmert, Tracy Sims, and unknown BOP officials individually deprived Plaintiff of equal protection by "Administratively Detaining him without Order for punitive reasons that he individually and as a member of a class of inmates reserved his right not to 'inform'/cooperate with authorities" on the probability that such cooperation would have violated his Fifth Amendment privileges against self-incrimination, all in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, 28 C.F.R. § 541.12(1) and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 389 (1971); (Count 3) Plaintiff alleges that from January 29, 2010, to May 12, 2010, Defendants Donna Zickefoose,Jacqueline B. Nichols, Janel Fitzgerald, D.Adams, Mr. McKinnon, Mr. Emmert, Tracy Sims, and other unknown BOP officials violated Plaintiff's due process rights by causing "deprivation of property, punishment, and atypical hardship" leading up to and during his administrative detention, all in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, 28 C.F.R. § 541.12(1)(3)(4)(6)(10), 28 C.F.R. § 541.22, and Bivens; (Count 4) Plaintiff alleges that from January 29, 2010, to May 12, 2010, Defendants Donna Zickefoose, Jacqueline B. Niochols, Janel Fitzgerald, D. Adams, Mr. McKinnon, Mr. Emmert, Tracy Sims, and unknown BOP officials subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment leading up to and during his Administrative Detention, all allegedly in violation of 42 U.S.C. §...
To continue reading
Request your trial