Burrell v. Hampshire County

• Decision Date: 04 October 2002
• Docket Number: No. 02-1504.,02-1504.
• Citation: 307 F.3d 1
• Parties: Stephen BURRELL, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. HAMPSHIRE COUNTY; Frank Godek, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire County Jail/House of Corrections; Anthony Thomas, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire County Jail/House of Corrections; John A. Seaver, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire County Jail/House of Corrections; Robert Garvey, individually and in his official capacity as county sheriff for Hampshire County; and William A. Martinez, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire Jail/House of Corrections, Defendants, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 1

307 F.3d 1

Stephen BURRELL, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. HAMPSHIRE COUNTY; Frank Godek, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire County Jail/House of Corrections; Anthony Thomas, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire County Jail/House of Corrections; John A. Seaver, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire County Jail/House of Corrections; Robert Garvey, individually and in his official capacity as county sheriff for Hampshire County; and William A. Martinez, individually and in his official capacity as corrections officer for the Hampshire Jail/House of Corrections, Defendants, Appellees.

No. 02-1504.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard September 4, 2002.

Decided October 4, 2002.

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Michael J. Schmidt, with whom Wheeler & Arey was on brief, for appellant.

Charles M. Maguire, Special Assistant Attorney General, for appellees.

Before BOUDIN, Chief Judge, BOWNES, Senior Circuit Judge, and LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

Stephen Burrell was assaulted and severely beaten by David Allen, a fellow inmate, on December 2, 1997 while they were both pretrial detainees at the Hampshire County Jail/House of Corrections ("the Hampshire Jail"). Burrell brought a damages action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000) against certain jail employees and Hampshire County Sheriff Robert Garvey. He alleged that defendants had been deliberately indifferent to his health and safety, in violation of his Fourteenth Amendment Due Process rights as a pretrial detainee. Burrell also asserted that the Hampshire Jail's failure to classify and segregate violent and nonviolent inmates itself violated the Eighth Amendment. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants on both claims. Burrell appeals that decision. We affirm.

I. Facts

Our review of a grant of summary judgment is de novo. We present the facts from the summary judgment record in the light most favorable to Burrell, and draw all reasonable inferences in his favor. See Conto v. Concord Hosp., Inc., 265 F.3d 79, 80 n. 1 (1st Cir.2001). Summary judgment is warranted if a jury could not reasonably return a verdict in the plaintiff's favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Accordingly, we accept as true the facts alleged by the plaintiff in his complaint, drawing all reasonable inferences in his favor.

Burrell was incarcerated at the Hampshire Jail on March 7, 1997 while awaiting trial on federal mail fraud, wire fraud and fictitious name charges. Allen, meanwhile, had been incarcerated in the Hampshire Jail since May 5, 1996 while awaiting trial on murder and assault charges. Allen and Burrell had been on the same cell block since August 26, 1997.

The Hampshire Jail has three cell blocks. Cell Block A, where Burrell was held, has twelve cells on each of two tiers, for a total of twenty-four cells. Inmates have individual cells, which they are able to lock from the inside. Inmates also have some level of choice regarding their location; when cells become open, they can request to move within their cell block. Early in his stay at the Hampshire Jail, Burrell requested a particular cell with a view of an adjacent forest, because he "wanted a room where [he] could see the free world." Burrell was given this cell, and it can be inferred that he was reluctant to give up his cell with a view.

Much of Burrell's claim rested on what he said were Allen's known and demonstrated violent proclivities. Allen was involved in several earlier incidents and was disciplined by prison officials at least three times. Two of the incidents for which Allen was disciplined involved violent altercations with other inmates. We list the incidents which, it can be inferred, were known to the corrections officers.

1. On December 16, 1996, a corrections officer overheard Allen telling another inmate that if Allen saw an inmate named Robles, he would hurt him, saying "If I see that mother fucker I'm gonna kill him. He better stay locked! He's a deadman," and punching the air with his fist. Allen was not disciplined for this.

2. The following day, December 17, 1996, Allen punched another inmate, James Peterson, after a disagreement growing out of Peterson's complaints that Allen's music was too loud. When Peterson was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, he told staff that he had been hit with a steel bar. According to the report filed on the disciplinary hearing, Allen claimed that he hit Peterson because Peterson called him a "nigger," and this account was supported by the testimony of a witness. Allen was found guilty of violating Hampshire Jail Code 18 (fighting with, assaulting, or threatening another person) and received seven days of isolation. Allen also pled guilty to criminal charges for this incident.

3. On March 20, 1997, Allen was disciplined for involvement in a fight between two other inmates. Allen claimed that he was only breaking up a fight. His claim was supported by witnesses, although one of those involved in the fight said that Allen was an active participant. For his involvement, Allen received seven days of room restriction suspended for sixty days, and four days of room restriction with a credit for time served.

4. On August 15, 1997, Allen and other inmates carried Raul Munier, also an inmate, to the day room and stuffed him in a trash can. Munier was not injured, but Allen and the other perpetrators were sanctioned for horseplay.

5. During the time they were blockmates, Burrell saw Allen fighting with other inmates, including a dispute with another inmate named David Santiago. According to Burrell, Allen removed a shower curtain rod and beat Santiago about the face and chest. Prison officials also noted another dispute between Allen and Santiago in November 1997.

In addition, it can be inferred that Allen had probably engaged in more disruptive behavior than just the listed incidents, as evidenced by his peripatetic circuit through the Hampshire Jail's three cell blocks. Allen was moved from Cell Block C to Cell Block B on May 27, 1997, and then from Cell Block B to Cell Block A on August 26, 1997. Prison officials admit that disciplinary infractions are one reason for moving inmates.

From August 26, 1997 until the date of the incident, December 2, 1997, Allen and Burrell lived one cell apart on the second tier of Cell Block A. While no disciplinary sanctions were imposed for altercations between Allen and Burrell, there were several incidents. Burrell brought at least two of these three incidents to the attention of Hampshire Jail officials:

1. Burrell and Allen had a disagreement when Allen changed the channel on the television in the day room to the Black Entertainment Television channel; Burrell, who had been watching another station, said that he didn't want to change the channel, and Allen responded, "What up." Burrell then returned to his cell.

2. During the summer, Allen pushed his way through a line of inmates waiting to go outside to the recreation yard. Burrell told him to wait his turn. Once they were both outside, Allen grabbed Burrell by the arm and said "You motherfucker. Dis me again like that, and I'll hurt you." Burrell responded, "Yeah right," and walked away from Allen. Burrell reported this incident to Officer Anthony Thomas within a day or so.

3. Less than a month before the December assault, Burrell and Allen were in the gymnasium together. Burrell was sitting on a bench after playing basketball, and Allen joined him on the bench and then accused Burrell of sweating on him. Burrell got up and walked away, going up a staircase. Allen pushed Burrell, causing him to grab the railing, but not hard enough to make Burrell fall. Burrell again reported the incident to Thomas.

In addition to these incidents, Allen's habit of playing his radio loudly and late at night created tension between Allen and Burrell. According to Burrell, "David had a large boom box radio and he would turn it and turn it up. And myself and others would complain to David Allen and he would say, `This is my box and these are my tunes and fuck you.'"¹

Burrell reported these incidents, and his concerns about Allen, to prison officials on a number of occasions. While the substance of these conversations is disputed, prison officials were clearly aware of tension between the two men. We are, in any event, required to accept Burrell's version as true for summary judgment purposes.

Burrell spoke to Thomas after the recreation yard incident, and said that he was afraid that there was going to be a fight between Allen and him. Burrell admits that he did not ask for protective custody at that time. After the incident in the gymnasium, Burrell again spoke to Thomas, this time in an area called the "press room." Thomas responded that he had sent a memo to Garvey and Frank Godek, a superintendent at the Hampshire Jail, about the situation. Burrell complained that Allen was a disruptive influence, and requested that Allen be moved; according to Burrell, Thomas said, "We've already moved him all over the place. There are no more places to move him."

Burrell also discussed Allen with Lieutenant John Seaver on several occasions. Burrell told Seaver that "a fight is going to ensue. There [is] going to be blood. Somebody's going to get hurt." Again, he asked that Allen be transferred out of Cell Block A. According to Burrell, Seaver responded "We're at a loss, we've moved him everywhere."

William Martinez, the corrections officer in charge of Cell Block A, also remembers discussing Allen with Burrell. According to Martinez, Burrell wanted Allen moved out of the block because Allen played his radio too loudly. Martinez recalls offering Burrell either the option of moving elsewhere, or protective custody. Martinez concedes that...