Cox v. Callaway Cnty.
| Decision Date | 21 May 2020 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 2:18-cv-04045-NKL |
| Parties | CASSANDRA COX, Plaintiff, v. CALLAWAY COUNTY, MISSOURI, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri |
This lawsuit arises out of Cox's arrest for suspected possession and use of illegal drugs including methamphetamines, and her subsequent treatment after being transferred to the Callaway County Jail. Cox alleges that Defendants' indifference to her medical condition at the jail caused her to suffer from a seizure and heart attack resulting in severe and permanent damage to her heart and brain.
Pending before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, Doc. 151. For the following reasons, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted.
Early in the morning of Friday, February 26, 2016, Officer Wisswell of the Fulton Police Department responded to a car accident where Cox was found in the driver's seat with the keys in the ignition and the car in drive and running. Pl's Exh. 10-2, at 6; DSOF 6.2 Cox was sweatingprofusely and disoriented or distracted. The car apparently had left the roadway and hit a pole. After performing several field sobriety tests, Wisswell placed her under arrest for suspected driving under the influence. DSOF 5, 9, 10.
Cox was taken by Wiswell to the Callaway County Hospital in Fulton, Missouri for a blood draw. DSOF 12. Cox signed a consent form authorizing the blood draw. After the blood draw, Cox was transported to the Fulton Police Department where a drug recognition expert evaluated Cox for suspected drug intoxication and determined she was under the influence of CNS stimulants and cannabis. DSOF 17, 18, 21. At that time, Cox was sitting in a chair, had redness around her nasal area, heat bumps in her oral cavity, slow reaction to light, she was disoriented, her speech was rapid, her face was flush, she had bloodshot and watery eyes, was having cyclic mood swings from crying to calm to upset, her blood pressure was elevated, and she had flaccid muscle tone. Pl's Exh. 10-2, at 1; PSOF 10.3 Her pulse was taken and it ranged from 82-84, which is not consistent with Tachycardia. See Pl.'s Exh. 13-2, at 113 (); Pl.'s Exh. 10-2, at 1. She did not complain of pain or any need for medical care. Cox was not otherwise evaluated by a medical professional. DSOF 24.
After approximately three hours in the custody of the Fulton Police Department, Cox was taken by Wisswell to the Callaway County Jail. As part of the transfer process, Wisswell completed a report indicating Cox had been arrested for DWI/Drugs, and that she had not requested medicalcare. DSOF 26, 27. Defendant Skyler Kinney, a corrections officer for Callaway County Jail, accepted custody of Cox. DSOF 12, 25.
As part of the booking process, Defendant Glen Ripsch, also a corrections officer with the Callaway County Jail, filled out a Medical Information form. Pl.'s Exh. 1-1 (Jail Intake Form), at 2-3. The form has two sections, the Medical Questionnaire part and the Observation part. Ripsch filled out the Medical Questionnaire using information provided by Cox.4 The form states Cox had prior mental or emotional problems for which she was receiving medication, that she had an iron deficiency, and that she was a current smoker. Id., at 2; DSOF 30, 32. She also stated she had had a TB skin test.
The observation portion of the form noted that Cox was showing signs of depression such as crying and being non-communicative and silent, and was showing "abnormal signs of anxiety, shame, [or] fear" by having her head on the counter, and not being cooperative with the questionnaire. Pl.'s Exh. 1-1, at 3. Ripsch also stated Cox was displaying abnormal or bizarre behavior but he did not indicate she was hearing or seeing things not present. Pl's Exh. 13-5, at 14:24-15:4, 23:21-24:5; Pl's Exh. 1-1, at 2 (). Both Kinney and Ripsch believed Cox was under the influence of drugs when accepted into the CallawayCounty Jail, Pl.'s Exh. 13-8 (Depo. of Skyler Kinney), at 13-14, 37, 42, 56-57; Pl.'s Exh. 13-5 (Depo. of Glen Ripsch), at 15, but there were no signs of drug withdrawal. Pl's Exh. 1-1, at 2.
The policies and procedures of the Callaway County Jail require that "subjects displaying bizarre behavior as a result of drugs or alcohol shall be treated as a medical emergency" and that "[i]n cases of medical emergency, inmates shall be transported" to the hospital emergency room. Pl.'s Exh. 3-1, at §§ 2.04, 12.05. According to Cox's expert, Dr. Blackburn, Cox would also be displaying outward signs of sweating, tremors, feelings of doom, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, elevated heart rate, cognition and orientation issues, as well as pain and severe dehydration. Pl.'s Exh. 13-2 (Depo. of Dr. Joel Blackburn), at 83, 127-28, 152. Neither Kinney nor Ripsch requested that Cox receive a medical evaluation before being accepted for confinement in the Callaway County Jail. DSOF 28.
Following her intake into the jail, Cox made a statement that she wanted to die, and was placed in a separate cell near the correctional officers' front desk, was provided a green suicide prevention suit, and was placed on observation status. DSOF 35. While under observation, Cox was observed in regular intervals, resulting in seventy-one related log entries by the on-duty correctional officers from February 26, 2016 until Cox's departure from the jail on February 28, 2016. DSOF 39; Pl's Exh. 2-2.
While in the Callaway County Jail, Cox refused her lunch and dinner on Friday, February 26, 2016, apparently ate on Saturday, but did not eat her breakfast on Sunday, February 28, 2016. Pl's Exh. 2-1B. The Callaway County manual Section 10.02 required that in the event of an apparent hunger strike that Pl's Exh. 3-1, at § 10.02. Karhoff stated that "persistent" meal refusal refers to previous refusal of two meals. Pl'sExh. 13-11, at 173-74. No medical examination or assistance was requested for Cox as a result of her refusal of meals. She also refused a shower saying she was cold. Pl's Exh. 13-19, Depo. of Callaway County), at 143.
On February 27 and 28, Cox asked to go to rehabilitation. See Pl's Exh. 13-11, at 108, but did not otherwise request medical assistance during her incarceration. On February 27, Cox's father called Karhoff twice and asked for Cox to be taken to the University of Missouri Psychiatric Center. Pl's Exh 13-20 (Depo. of Bruce Cox), at 23-25. He told Karhoff that she needed medications for her panic attacks. Id., at 23-24. Karhoff told Cox's father that Cox was "not crazy enough" to be transferred to the hospital. Id., at 25.
On Sunday, February 28, 2016, Cox was allowed out of her cell under the observation of Defendants Brittany Karhoff and Katie McCowan to make a phone call to her father. DSOF 44, 45. Shortly after Cox returned to her cell, Karhoff heard yelling coming from Cox's cell, and Cox was found sitting against the door. Karhoff had Cox's cell opened, and McCown called dispatch and requested an ambulance. DSOF 51, 52. Karhoff called for help, utilized ammonia inhalants, did a sternum rub, and turned Cox on her side. DSOF 54. Emergency medical technicians from the Callaway County Ambulance then arrived and were able to resuscitate Cox and transport her to a hospital. DSOF 56. Karhoff testified that she provided CPR to Cox, and she filed a report stating that she provided chest compressions. Pl's Exh. 13-11, at 147; Pl's Exh. 5-1 (Incident Report), at 6. Surveillance footage did not show whether Karhoff performed CPR, but that surveillance footage did not fully cover the area where Cox was located. Pl's Exh 13-20, at 222-25, 234-35. A report by McCown is silent on the issue of CPR, but Ripsch stated in his report that "[u]pon the insertion of the ammonia inhalant, it appeared to have no effect . . . Karhoff then began to preform [sic] chest compressions on Inmate Cox." Pl's Exh. 5-1, at 4.
Prior to the request for an ambulance, none of the correctional officers responsible for supervising Cox requested medical assistance or a medical examination for Cox.
Plaintiff Cassandra Cox filed her thirty-six count Complaint against defendants Callaway County, Missouri; the Callaway County Sheriff's Department; and various employees of the Callaway County Sheriff's Department claiming deliberate indifference to a serious medical need, Monell liability, state law negligence, and violation of the ADA and Rehabilitation Acts. Doc. 132 (First Amended Complaint).
"Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Anderson v. Durham D &M, LLC, 606 F.3d 513, 518 (8th Cir. 2010) (citing Johnson v. Ready Mixed Concrete Co., 424 F.3d 806, 810 (8th Cir. 2005)); Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The Court must enter summary judgment "against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Robert Johnson Grain Co. v. Chemical Interchange Co., 541 F.2d 207, 210 (8th Cir. 1976); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). While the moving party bears the burden of establishing a lack of any genuine issues of material fact, Brunsting v. Lutsen Mountains Corp., 601 F.3d 813, 820 (8th Cir. 2010), the party opposing summary judgment "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial." Thomas v. Corwin, 483 F.3d 516, 527 (8th Cir. 2007). "Mere allegations, unsupported by specific facts or evidence beyond the nonmoving party's own conclusions, are insufficient to...
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