Cavalieri v. Shepard

• Decision Date: 24 February 2003
• Docket Number: No. 01-3745.,01-3745.
• Citation: 321 F.3d 616
• Parties: Joann CAVALIERI, as Plenary Guardian of the Estate of Steven Cavalieri, a Disabled Person, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Donald SHEPARD, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

321 F.3d 616

Joann CAVALIERI, as Plenary Guardian of the Estate of Steven Cavalieri, a Disabled Person, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Donald SHEPARD, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 01-3745.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued May 24, 2002.

Decided February 24, 2003.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied March 20, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gary D. Forrester (Argued), Phebus & Winkelmann, Urbana, IL, Nancy J. Glidden, Phebus & Winkelmann, West Chester, PA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Michael R. Cornyn (Argued), Thomas, Mamer & Haughey, Champaign, IL, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before POSNER, MANION, and DIANE P. WOOD, Circuit Judges.

DIANE P. WOOD, Circuit Judge.

Steven Cavalieri is in a vegetative state after attempting suicide in a holding cell in the Champaign County Correctional Facility (the CCCF). Steven's mother, Joann Cavalieri, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as the guardian of her son's estate, claiming that Steven attempted suicide after Donald Shepard, a police officer with the City of Champaign (the City), and others acted with deliberate indifference to his risk of suicide. Shepard now appeals from the district court's denial of his motion for summary judgment and claim of qualified immunity. We affirm.

I

Although this is an interlocutory appeal, Shepard is entitled to bring it now, because he is raising the question whether he should have prevailed on his defense of qualified immunity, based on the facts taken in the light most favorable to Mrs. Cavalieri. See Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 525-26, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985). We must resolve a qualified immunity issue as early as possible in the proceedings, because it is an "immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to liability." Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 200, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001) (emphasis in original). We present the facts below in the light most favorable to Mrs. Cavalieri, because we have no appellate jurisdiction to the extent disputed facts are central to the case. See Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 115 S.Ct. 2151, 132 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995).

On June 4, 1998, Steven kidnaped Stephanie Rouse, his former girlfriend, and took her from Champaign to a remote area of Urbana. Using a gun, he threatened to kill both Rouse and himself. Rouse convinced Steven to drive back to town, and then she called his mother from a public phone. After speaking with Rouse, Mrs. Cavalieri called the Crisis Hotline in Champaign County. Rouse later placed a call to the Crisis Hotline as well. The Crisis Hotline contacted the Metropolitan Computer Aided Dispatch (METCAD), which called the City Police Department.

The Champaign Police Department dispatched two officers who were instructed that there was a hostage situation involving a man with a gun. At approximately 3:00 a.m., the officers knocked on Rouse's door; a male responded, but he refused to let the officers inside. The officers then called a hostage negotiation team and contacted Rouse by telephone. Rouse denied that Steven was present and that she might need assistance, but she also refused to leave her apartment. This standoff continued for several hours until approximately 6:00 a.m., when a member of the hostage negotiation team spoke with Mrs. Cavalieri. She advised the officers that her son was suicidal and needed to go to a hospital.

About an hour later, the SWAT team entered the apartment using pepper spray. They immediately handcuffed and removed all the occupants, including Steven, who was found hiding under a kitchen cabinet. Rouse was briefly interviewed at the scene. After the SWAT team located Steven, Rouse informed the officers of the events of the evening, specifically telling them that Steven had threatened to kill both himself and her.

After Steven arrived at the City jail, he met with defendant Shepard for approximately one hour. Steven asked Shepard if he could speak to a mental health counselor, and Shepard explained that jail personnel would arrange for him to speak with someone. At around 10:00 a.m., Steven was transferred to the CCCF. Despite the official transfer, Shepard remained personally involved with the case and continued to participate in interviews with both Rouse and Mrs. Cavalieri.

First, Shepard joined an ongoing interview with Rouse. Rouse explained once again that Steven had threatened to kill her and commit suicide himself. Rouse also told Shepard that this kidnaping came just a month after Steven was arrested for criminal trespass at Rouse's apartment. Finally, Rouse told Shepard that Steven claimed that he would kill himself if he ever returned to jail.

Next, Shepard interviewed Mrs. Cavalieri. Mrs. Cavalieri told Shepard that she wanted to make arrangements to ensure that her son saw a counselor. She also explained that her son's mental condition was fragile, and she told Shepard about the calls to the Crisis Line the night before. Finally, she told Shepard that Steven had been on suicide watch the month before at the CCCF, while he was being held there in conjunction with his criminal trespass arrest. Shepard advised Mrs. Cavalieri that Steven's mind was "on overload," that he seemed very upset, and that he believed Steven would need counseling. Mrs. Cavalieri told Shepard that Steven needed to be on suicide watch and should not be left alone. Shepard responded by promising Mrs. Cavalieri that Steven would not be alone.

Around 11:00 a.m., Shepard called the CCCF to speak with Steven. He informed Steven that Mrs. Cavalieri was with him and that she would arrange for him to have a counselor. During this conversation Steven told Shepard that he was doing fine and that he was looking forward to seeing his mother. Shepard then directed Mrs. Cavalieri to County Mental Health so that she could arrange for Steven to speak with a counselor.

Shepard asserts that after completing these interviews, he did not subjectively believe that Steven was a suicide risk. He emphasizes that Steven seemed calm when they spoke on the phone, was without weapons, and that during their phone conversation he stated that he was doing fine. Unfortunately, this was far from the case.

After Steven was transferred to the CCCF, he was not placed on suicide watch. Steven himself did not alert the CCCF staff to the fact that he was having suicidal thoughts. Indeed, during his intake he denied all the events of the early morning (having the gun, harming or threatening anyone, having suicidal thoughts or ever attempting to commit suicide). He did ask to speak to a mental health advisor, and was told he would receive one, but no advisor came before his attempt on his life. Steven was assigned to a holding cell in the booking area while he awaited further processing. The holding cell contained a telephone with a strong metal cord. Later that afternoon, Shepard called the CCCF to instruct the guards to put a stop to Steven's phone calls, as he had been making annoying calls to Rouse. Shepard was then informed that around 2:10 p.m., Steven had been found unconscious, hanging from the wire telephone cord. To this day, he has not regained consciousness and remains in an unresponsive state. He now lives in a nursing home near his mother.

II

As the Supreme Court recently reminded us, in order to decide whether a defendant is entitled to qualified immunity, we must first determine whether (taking the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff) a constitutional right was violated, and second, if those facts would demonstrate a violation, we must decide whether the right in question was clearly established at the time the events took place. Saucier, 533 U.S. at 200, 121 S.Ct. 2151. We review these issues de novo, DuFour-Dowell v. Cogger, 152 F.3d 678, 680 (7th Cir.1998). Viewing the record in the light most favorable to Mrs. Cavalieri, we conclude that Shepard can prevail in this case only if certain disputed facts are resolved in his favor by a trier of fact. Put differently, taking the facts from the required perspective, we conclude that Steven's constitutional rights were violated and that these rights were clearly established as of mid-1998.

A

As an initial matter, we must determine whether Mrs. Cavalieri has alleged facts that would show that Shepard's conduct violated her son's constitutional rights. Mrs. Cavalieri first claimed violations of the Fourth Amendment, but she now correctly asserts that Steven's claim, which she is pursuing as his guardian, arises (if at all) under the Fourteenth Amendment. See Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535 n. 16, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979). The Eighth Amendment does not apply to pretrial detainees, but as a pretrial detainee, Steven was entitled to at least the same protection against deliberate indifference to his basic needs as is available to convicted prisoners under the Eighth Amendment. Id.; Payne v. Churchich, 161 F.3d 1030, 1039-41 (7th Cir. 1998); Tesch v. County of Green Lake, 157 F.3d 465, 473 (7th Cir.1998). Under both the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment standards, the plaintiff has the burden of showing that (1) the harm to the plaintiff was objectively serious; and (2) that the official was deliberately indifferent to her health or safety. Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 833, 114 S.Ct. 1970, 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994); Payne, 161 F.3d at 1041 ("A detainee establishes a § 1983 claim by demonstrating that the defendants were aware of a substantial risk of serious injury to the detainee but nevertheless failed to take appropriate steps to protect him from a known danger.").

The question is whether Shepard was aware that Steven was on the verge of committing suicide (which, if it occurred, surely would qualify as a serious harm). If the trier of fact believes Mrs. Cavalieri's account, the answer is yes. We realize that according to Shepard, the only facts available to him were (1) Rouse's statement that Steven attempted to kill her and himself, but that she had...