DeBlasio v. Rock
| Decision Date | 26 September 2011 |
| Docket Number | 9:09-CV-1077 |
| Parties | PHILIP DEBLASIO, Plaintiff, v. DAVID ROCK, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
ADELE M. TAYLOR-SCOTT, ESQ.
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER
In this pro se prisoner civil rights action, filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Plaintiff Philip DeBlasio alleges that twenty-three employees of the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision ("DOCCS") violated his constitutional rights by denying him adequate medical care, interfering with his right to exercise his religion, subjecting him to excessive force, and subjecting him to unconstitutional conditions of confinement. (Dkt. No. 1.) Currently pending is Defendants' motion for summary judgment. (Dkt. No. 55.) Plaintiff hasnot opposed the motion, despite having been advised of the consequences of failing to do so and having been granted four extensions of the deadline by which to do so. (Dkt. No. 55 at 3; Jan. 19, 2011, Text Order; Feb. 16, 2011, Text Order; Mar. 31, 2011 Text Order; June 27, 2011, Text Order.) For the reasons that follow, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part.
Plaintiff, an inmate currently in DOCCS custody at Five Points Correctional Facility, complains in this action of a series of events that occurred at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in 2006 and 2009. (Dkt. No. 1.)
In his verified complaint, Plaintiff alleges that on December 28, 2006, Defendant Physician Assistant Fisher Nesmith stopped at his cell during sick-call rounds. (Dkt. No. 1 at 11.) Plaintiff told Defendant Nesmith that he needed to see the doctor for his chronic back pain and herniated discs. Id. Defendant Nesmith would not allow Plaintiff to see the doctor. Id. at 12. This happened "several times" again after December 28, 2006. Id.
Plaintiff alleges that on December 28, 2006, Defendant Correction Officer Kevin Holden was assigned to pack Plaintiff's personal belongings because Plaintiff was moving to a new cell. (Dkt. No. 1 at 12.) Thereafter, pages were missing from each of Plaintiff's three copies of the Koran. Id. One of the three Korans had to be destroyed because it was missing so many pages. Id. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Holden is "defin[i]tely responsible" for the missing pages because he "was the only person to pack [P]laintiff's property . . ." Id.
Plaintiff alleges that one night in early August 20091 , he complained of sharp pains in his left ribcage area and blood in his urine.2 (Dkt. No. 1 at 12.) Defendant Correction Officer Kelsey Lenney told Plaintiff he would call a nurse.3 Id. After speaking to Defendant Nurse Della Howley, Defendant Lenney returned twenty minutes later and asked Plaintiff if he had requested a sick call. Id. at 12-13. Plaintiff was enraged and started banging the gate and asking to see a sergeant. Id. at 13. When Defendant Sergeant John Busse responded to the scene, Plaintiff explained the situation and Defendant Busse said he would take care of it. Id. Two hours after Plaintiff had first complained of the pain, Defendant Howley arrived at his cell "with a very negative attitude." Id. Plaintiff "was so mad she wouldn't help him [that] he threw water at her and hit [Defendant] Lt. Richard Juckett as well." Id.
After Plaintiff threw the water, an extraction team was mobilized to remove him from his cell. (Dkt. No. 1 at 13.) This team included Defendant Juckett, Defendant Busse, Defendant Correction Officer Adam Rivers, Defendant Lenney, Defendant Correction Officer RichardDempster, and Defendant Correction Officer Richard Buell. Id.
According to Plaintiff, Defendant Juckett told Plaintiff that "he was going to OBS4 one way or the other" even if Defendant Juckett "had to drag [P]laintiff out of the cell himself." Id. Plaintiff told Defendant Juckett that he was "not suicidal and should be sent to F-Block" as originally scheduled. Id. Defendant Juckett "was then just about to spray [P]laintiff in the face when [P]laintiff pleaded with him to take him out without gas[s]ing him . . ." Id. In the complaint, Plaintiff alleges that the extraction team moved him to an observation room and then beat him with sticks, their fists, and their feet. Id. At his deposition, Plaintiff testified that the members of the extraction team beat him with their fists for about a minute. (Dkt. No. 55-16 at 84:17-24, 86:24-87:10.)
Defendants assert that they did not use any force on Plaintiff. Defendant Dempster declares that the only physical contact that any member of the extraction team had with Plaintiff during the cell extraction was when Defendant Buell placed Plaintiff's wrists and legs in restraints. (Dkt. No. 55-5 ¶ 10; Dkt. No. 55-8 ¶ 18.) Defendant Dempster declares that Plaintiff "voluntarily complied with [a] strip frisk, which is standard procedure for inmates being processed into" the mental health unit. (Dkt. No. 55-5 ¶ 12; Dkt. No. 55-8 ¶¶ 20-21.) After that was done, the team "escorted [P]laintiff to an observation cell," which was "accomplished without incident." (Dkt. No. 55-5 ¶¶ 13-14.) Defendant Juckett declares that "[t]he only physical contact that I or any member of the extraction team had with Inmate DeBlasio that day was to place him in restraints, conduct a pat frisk, and be present when the inmate was subject tostrip frisk." (Dkt. No. 55-8 ¶ 25.) Defendant Lenney declares that he "had no physical contact with inmate DeBlasio at all." (Dkt. No. 55-9 ¶ 20.) Defendant Rivers declares that he "had no physical contact with inmate DeBlasio during this engagement." (Dkt. No. 55-11 ¶ 13.)
After Plaintiff was secured in the observation cell, the extraction team members left the area, returned to their regular duties, and did not see Plaintiff again that day. (Dkt. No. 55-5 ¶¶ 15-16; Dkt. No. 55-3 ¶¶ 13-14; Dkt. No. 55-8 ¶ 22; Dkt. No. 55-9 ¶ 21; Dkt. No. 55-1 ¶ 12.) No paperwork was prepared documenting a use of force. (Dkt. No. 55-11 ¶ 14.) It is standard procedure to prepare a Use of Force Report when force is used on an inmate. Id.
Plaintiff alleges that after the extraction team left, he remained in the observation cell all night without any medical attention or treatment. (Dkt. No. 1 at 13.) At his deposition he testified that he suffered only from "discomfort [and] bruises" as a result of the incident. (Dkt. No. 55-16 at 83:6-8.) About twenty-four hours after the incident, Plaintiff complained to an officer of chest pains. (Dkt. No. 56 at 2 ¶ 15, 5.) Plaintiff allowed Defendant Howley to examine him. Id. Plaintiff told Defendant Howley only that he had indigestion. Id. Defendant Howley found that Plaintiff had "no signs of distress." Id.
The day after the incident with the extraction team, Defendant Correction Officer Scott Hamel escorted Plaintiff to a conference room to be interviewed by Defendant Dr. Battu5 and Defendant Social Worker Sarah Wetherell.6 (Dkt. No. 1 at 14.) Dr. Battu had been asked to seePlaintiff to "possibly prescribe medications to control his behavior or adjust medications that were already prescribed." (Dkt. No. 55-2 ¶ 9.) Dr. Battu often performs such interviews alone, but was accompanied by Defendant Wetherell "[b]ecause of the violent nature of this inmate." Id. ¶ 10. Defendant Wetherell had "worked with [P]laintiff for a number of years . . . and [was] familiar with his history and patterns of behavior." (Dkt. No. 55-20 ¶ 3.) Defendant Wetherell declares that the RCTP Coordinator was also present. (Dkt. No. 55-20 ¶ 13.)
Defendant Sergeant Crispin Murray declares that he supervised Defendant Hamel as he escorted Plaintiff to the appointment. (Dkt. No. 55-10 ¶ 5.) Once Plaintiff was in the conference room, Defendant Murray moved to a desk several feet away from the door to the room. (Id. ¶ 6; Dkt. No. 55-2 ¶ 11.)
Plaintiff alleges that he told Defendants Battu and Wetherell about the incident with the extraction team. (Dkt. No. 1 at 14.) He alleges that Defendant Battu said that it was none of his concern because he was just "there to handle medications and suicide prevention" and that because Plaintiff threw water at Defendant Howley he "may have deserved" what happened. Id. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Wetherell "refused to comment or help [Plaintiff] in any way at all." Id. Plaintiff alleges that he called Defendant Wetherell "a snake sellout C.O. bitch" and she stormed out of the room and talked to Defendant Correction Officer Scott Hamel. Id. Dr. Battu declares that Plaintiff "became verbally abusive to Sarah Wetherell, nearly bringing her to tears, and when I tried to calm him down, [P]laintiff became abusive toward me." (Dkt. No. 55-2 ¶ 14.) Dr. Battu declares that Plaintiff's behavior (Dkt. No. 55-2 ¶ 15.) Defendant spelling.Wetherell declares that when "the session started to get hostile, the RCTP Coordinator stood up, and in doing so triggered a prearranged signal to security personnel to move in." (Dkt. No. 55-20 ¶ 19.)
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Hamel entered the conference room and rushed Plaintiff into a cell. (Dkt. No. 1 at 14.) Defendant Hamel declares that he entered the conference room because (Dkt. No. 55-7 ¶ 9.) Defendant Murray declares that when a "problem occurred in the interview room," he supervised Defendant...
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