Cook v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Curry

• Decision Date: 23 January 2018
• Docket Number: No. 2:16-CV-00597 JCH/CG,2:16-CV-00597 JCH/CG
• Parties: KELLY COOK, as Mother and Next Friend of CHRISTIAN COOK, Plaintiff v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR THE COUNTY OF CURRY, TORI SANDOVAL, JOAN MARTIN, SUE MARTIN, CORRECTIONAL HEALTHCARE COMPAINES, INC., and CORRECT CARE SOLUTIONS, LLC, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico

KELLY COOK,as Mother and Next Friend of CHRISTIAN COOK, Plaintiff v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR THE COUNTY OF CURRY,TORI SANDOVAL, JOAN MARTIN, SUE MARTIN, CORRECTIONAL HEALTHCARE COMPAINES, INC.,and CORRECT CARE SOLUTIONS, LLC, Defendants.

No. 2:16-CV-00597 JCH/CG

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

January 23, 2018

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

This matter comes before the Court on the following motions: (i)PlaintiffKelly Cook's Motion to Amend the Complaint(ECF No. 25); and (ii)the Rule 12(b) Motion to Dismiss and for Qualified Immunity (ECF No. 15), filed by Defendants Board of County Commissioners for the County of Curry(the "Board"), Tori Sandoval, and Sandra Martin(collectively, hereinafter the "County Defendants").¹The Court, having considered the motions, briefs, pleadings, and relevant law, concludes that Plaintiff's motion to amend will be granted, and the County Defendants' motion to dismiss and for qualified immunity will be denied.

I.FACTUAL BACKGROUND²

Christian Cook had a history of mental illness, developmental disorders, and behavioral issues, including known diagnoses for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, borderlineintellectual functioning, schizoid features, nocturnal enuresis, OCD features, and febrile seizures.Proposed SecondAm. Compl. ¶¶ 14, 17, ECF No. 25-1.On June 21, 2013, when he was 15 years old, he was arrested and booked into the Curry County Juvenile Detention Center("CCJDC").Id.¶¶ 5, 15-16.At the time, DefendantTori Sandoval was the CCJDC administrator; DefendantSandra Martin was a high-ranking guard with supervisory authority at CCJDC; and Defendant Board employed the individual defendants.Id.¶¶ 4-7.³Defendants Sandoval and Sandra Martin had day-to-day contact with Christian and were fully aware of the conditions in which he was housed.Id.¶ 200.The CCJDC facility has a design capacity of 16 juveniles and the average population during Christian's detention was only 11 juveniles.Id.¶¶ 201-02.

At the time of his booking, a nurse conducted a medical screening of Christian and noted his diagnosis of ADHD, he appeared anxious, and had a rash, yet he was not treated for either condition.Id.¶¶ 18-19.The nurse recommended Christian be housed in general population; instead, he was housed in solitary confinement, where he remained for the duration of his 11-month detention at CCJDC.Seeid.¶¶ 15, 20-22, 186.Despite staffing levels of 16 juvenile detention officers at CCJDC and times when staff often outnumbered juveniles 2:1, Christian was housed in solitary confinement and rarely allowed out of his cell.Id.¶¶ 203-06.

The week after Christian arrived, Sheila Stevenson, a licensed independent social worker ("LISW") with TeamBuilders Counseling Services, assessed Christian and noted he had problems with anxiety and enuresis and had a diagnosis of borderline intellectual functioning.Seeid.¶¶ 23-24.She also noted that he exhibited symptoms of anxiety and depression, andlearned from his mother that Christian had difficulty performing activities of daily living, such as maintaining hygiene without help.Seeid.¶¶ 23-26.

During his stay in solitary confinement, Christian's mental health deteriorated quickly.Id.¶ 28.Guards frequently noticed Christian was visibly upset, crying, afraid in his cell, and depressed, yet records indicate he received no mental health care in response to these observations.Seeid.¶¶ 29-32, 35-40, 46, 59-61, 82-90, 107-08, 138-42, 160.On August 7, 2013, Christian was visibly upset and told staff he felt like he was passing out and afraid to fall asleep.Id.¶ 35.Although they moved him to a holding cell, he was not provided medical treatment.Id.¶ 36.The following morning Christian began experiencing severe anxiety with hyperventilation, began crying, and said he needed to go to the hospital, but the jail provided no medical treatment beyond instructing him to relax and slow his breathing.Id.¶¶ 37-39.Following the incident, Christian was placed on "Health and Wellness" Watch, at 30-minute increments, on which he remained for the rest of his approximately nine and a half month stay.Id.¶¶ 41-42.During the first seven days on "Health and Wellness" Watch, records show he remained in his cell for at least 20 hours per day, received only two short showers, and was let out for recreation only twice.Id.¶ 57.Christian began talking to himself underneath his bed, banging on the door and walls of his cell, and yelling.Id.¶¶ 58, 110, 113.

On another occasion, a jail officer reported that he saw a journal entry Christian wrote saying he was tired of being abused and neglected and was tired of living.Id.¶ 48.The next day a nurse who examined Christian noted he was anxious, uncooperative, and angry and again recommended he be housed in general population, yet jail staff continued to house him in a solitary cell.Id.¶¶ 52-55.When Christian received counseling, his counselor noticed how emotionally distressed he was.Id.¶ 75-76, 127-29, 136.He experienced frequent anxiety attacksthroughout his detention and began exhibiting odd behavior, such as flushing food down his toilet, frequently being seen standing on his sink, and picking at his skin, leading to infections.Seeid.¶¶ 77, 92-97, 106, 109, 176.Although Christian was offered his medications, he intermittently refused to take them, so guards discontinued his prescriptions without the consent or advice of his mother or physician.Id.¶¶ 100-01.In response to his bizarre behavior, guards often punished him with loss of privileges, including not being let out of his cell.Id.¶¶ 175-77.

Christian did not receive schooling until nine days after classes began for other children.Id.¶ 66.Despite having an updated Individualized Education Plan ("IEP") setting forth his needs for special education, occupational therapy, and counseling, Christian consistently received far fewer minutes of education than the 235 minutes of math and 235 of English each week set forth in his IEP.Seeid.¶¶ 63-72, 124-25, 172-74.For example, during the entire month of September, Christian received only 36 minutes of education.Id.¶ 68.Records show that there was not a single month during his detention when Christian received occupational therapy or mental health counseling each week as his IEP required.Id.¶ 73.

Christian's condition deteriorated to the point that a forensic evaluation was ordered to determine his competency, yet he remained isolated without mental healthcare.Id.¶¶ 117-18.Christian continued to be isolated in his cell for extraordinary lengths of time.Id.¶ 126.Records indicate that between December 20, 2013 and January 5, 2014, Christian was not allowed out for recreation.Seeid.¶¶ 138-140.On January 23, 2014, Christian made comments to Melodye Thomas that he felt like hurting himself, which she reported to DefendantSandra Martin.Id.¶¶ 142-44.They placed him on 15-minute suicide watch for 24 hours that day.Id.¶ 144.Over the next several weeks, he continued to be housed in isolation, and if he was moved from his cell, it was to the multi-purpose room in isolation, devoid of social interaction.Id.¶¶ 146-47.Hewent days, sometimes weeks without any recreation.Seeid.¶¶ 148-168.From September 3 and 14, 2013, Christian was allowed out once for 58 minutes of recreation; from November 22 through 29, 2013, and again from December 2 through 11, 2013, he was not allowed out for recreation; from April 14 through 21, 2014, he received only 14 minutes of recreation outside his cell; and during the week of May 4, 2014, he was allowed out to recreation once for 18 minutes.Id.¶¶ 150-154.During the last two months of detention, Christian often went days isolated to his cell for over 20 hours per day.Id.¶ 171.The lack of recreation and prolonged isolation caused his mental health to decline very quickly.Id.¶ 155.

On February 28, 2014, guards noted Christian was crying in his cell, lying underneath the bunk, asking for his mom, and later in the day he flooded his cell and was rubbing the window with a wet blanket.Id.¶¶ 160-62.He began yelling that he was going to kill himself and they placed him on suicide watch, yet he was not provided any mental health intervention following his suicide threats.Id.¶¶ 163-65.Records indicate Christian was not allowed out for recreation from February 23, 2014 until March 11, 2014.Seeid.¶¶ 167-68.

On May 7, 2014, Christian urinated on himself and refused to shower.Id.¶ 178.Although he eventually agreed to shower when threatened that he must shower or not be let out of his cell, he was only let out for an additional two minutes for the entire day following his shower.Id.¶ 180.On May 12, 2014, guards found Christian hiding under his blanket with blood everywhere.Id.¶ 181.Christian told them he bites his lip when he becomes anxious.Id.¶ 182.The next day, Christian's mother expressed concern that he had plans to kill himself, so they moved him to a holding cell for observation without providing mental health counseling or giving him access to a doctor.Id.¶¶ 183-84.Following this incident, he was not allowed out for recreation for the remainder of his detention until May 27, 2014, when he was released to CopperHill in Utah for treatment to attain competency.Id.¶¶ 185-86.From June 21, 2013 through May 27, 2014, Christian spent eleven months in solitary confinement without a hearing or periodic classification review.Id.¶¶ 242, 249.

While at Copper Hills, Christian made many statements of his desire to commit suicide.Id.¶ 188.The Copper Hills treatment providers determined he would not be able to attain competency to stand trial within a year, if ever, so his criminal charges were dropped.Id.¶¶ 192-93.Because of the severity of Christian's condition, he remained at Copper Hills for treatment of his mental illnesses until his discharge on October 19, 2014, and he now...