Elliott v. Cheshire County, NH
| Decision Date | 09 November 1990 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 89-412-D. |
| Parties | Guy ELLIOTT, Sr., as Voluntary Administrator of the Estate of Guy C. Elliott, Jr. v. CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE, Patrick McManus, Cheshire County House of Corrections, Superintendent, Individually and in His Official Capacity, Carl Baird, Cheshire County House of Corrections, Corrections Supervisor, Individually and in His Official Capacity, Angie Malloy, Cheshire County House of Corrections, Corrections Officer, Individually and in Her Official Capacity, Robert Norton, Cheshire County House of Corrections, Corrections Officer, Individually and in His Official Capacity, Arthur Whipple, Cheshire County House of Corrections, Corrections Officer, Individually and in His Official Capacity, Richard Clapp, Cheshire County House of Corrections, Corrections Officer, Individually and in His Official Capacity, John Thornton, Cheshire County House of Corrections, Corrections Officer, Individually and in His Official Capacity, M.P. Ranhoff, New Hampshire State Police, Trooper, Individually and in His Official Capacity. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Hampshire |
Bragdon & Berkson, P.C. by James Romeyn Davis and Katharine Lord Klein, Keene, N.H., for plaintiff.
Cleveland, Waters & Bass by Craig L. Staples, Concord, N.H., for defendants.
State Atty. General's Office by Charles T. Putnam, Civ. Bureau, Concord, N.H., for M.P. Ranhoff.
Plaintiff Guy Elliott, Sr., brings this civil action alleging that defendants deprived his son, Guy Elliott, Jr. ("Guy"), of his constitutional rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff alleges that defendants are responsible for Guy's suicide while a pretrial detainee in the Cheshire County House of Corrections. Jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a). Before the Court are defendants' motions for summary judgment.
On February 22, 1988, at the home of his parents in Marlow, New Hampshire, Guy C. Elliott, Jr. ("Guy"), age 18, assaulted his mother during an argument. When his brother and father attempted to intervene, Guy fought with and threatened them. The police were summoned, but Guy left the scene before they arrived. Trooper Michael Ranhoff of the New Hampshire State Police arrived at the Elliott home at about 2:00 p.m. While Mr. Elliott conducted a search for Guy, Mrs. Elliott related the incident to Trooper Ranhoff, adding that they had had trouble with Guy in the past.
Mrs. Elliott explained to Trooper Ranhoff that Guy had been previously involved with the juvenile justice system because of an assault on his father. Trooper Ranhoff was apparently aware that there had been previous problems with Guy. Mrs. Elliott said that after his previous arrest Guy was evaluated and spent time at several mental health facilities and had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic. Mrs. Elliott did not tell Trooper Ranhoff that Guy had twice threatened suicide during this time. Because the juvenile justice system limited the trial testimony to the single event of the assault on his father, Guy was merely told to go home and try to get along better with his parents. Mrs. Elliott said that Guy had been to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Hollenbeck,1 at Monadnock Family Services, who had also diagnosed Guy as schizophrenic. Guy's behavior continued to worsen. He spent most of his time in his room alone, rarely dressed, and did not come to meals.
Guy's father, unable to locate his son, returned and spoke with Trooper Ranhoff. Mr. Elliott indicated he would not fill out a complaint for the assault because their experience with the juvenile justice system had not been helpful. Trooper Ranhoff told them that since Guy was now an adult things would be different, as all of the medical information would be available to the court and would enable the system to help Guy. The Elliotts then made out the complaint.
Trooper Ranhoff and Mr. Elliott conducted a brief search for Guy, but to no avail, and Trooper Ranhoff left the Elliott home. Guy returned while the family was having dinner, and calmly went to his room. Mr. Elliott called the police, and Troopers Ranhoff and Jebson arrived and arrested Guy. Guy was calm and polite during the arrest and quiet during the trip to the jail.
At about 5:30 Guy arrived at the Cheshire County House of Corrections ("CCHOC") and was booked. Defendant Angie Malloy, a corrections officer, did the intake. Trooper Ranhoff told corrections officer Robert Norton that Guy had assaulted his family, but did not tell anyone about Guy's previous offense or his mental illness. The intake form did not include questions about mental health, and it was not customary for the intake and receiving officers to seek information regarding detainees from the arresting officer.
Guy was placed in an observation cell overnight and was arraigned the following morning. Bail was reduced from $5,000 to $1,000, but Guy was committed to CCHOC with a scheduled hearing on March 1. After the arraignment, Trooper Ranhoff called Mrs. Elliott to tell her that a caseworker had seen Guy and concluded that he was hostile toward his family. The Elliotts decided not to post bail, and Guy remained in jail pending the hearing.
On February 26, several days after the incident, Mrs. Elliott spoke with Dr. Hollenbeck. She apprised him of the situation, and he called CCHOC to inquire about Guy. Someone at the jail told the doctor that Guy was fine. Dr. Hollenbeck also spoke with Guy's attorney and told her that Guy should receive inpatient psychiatric treatment rather than incarceration. Guy's attorney told Dr. Hollenbeck that she would ask the court to appoint a guardian for Guy at the hearing. Dr. Hollenbeck related this conversation to Mrs. Elliott and told her that Guy would probably go to the Concord mental hospital. Mrs. Elliott in turn spoke with Trooper Ranhoff on February 28 and told him what the doctor had said. Trooper Ranhoff responded that he would call Guy's attorney the following day.
During his time as a pretrial detainee, Guy Elliott was reported by CCHOC officials to be a "nonproblematic prisoner." However, several incidents took place which plaintiff alleges should have indicated to the staff that there was something seriously wrong with Guy's mental health.
Two of Guy's fellow inmates reported that Guy was very troubled by the fact that he was not permitted to call his family. Exhibits E and F, Affidavits of Timothy Deem and Glen Hall, to Memorandum of Law in Objection to Motions for Summary Judgment. One of them stated that he did not understand what was meant when the inmates were asked if they wanted to take a shower. Deem Affidavit at 2. Guy also asked them several strange questions — whether the water was safe to drink and what would happen if he stuffed paper towels or a bar of soap down his throat. Deem Affidavit at 2; Hall Affidavit at 2. Inmate Hall stated he heard Guy say he wanted to drown himself in the toilet. Hall Affidavit at 2. Both inmates reported these comments to the guards. Id. When confronted, Guy was assured the water was safe to drink, despite what other inmates had told him. Submission in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, Vol. 1, Deposition of Angelica Malloy at 90-93. On February 28, the inmates saw Guy banging his head against the bars of his cell and trying to stuff his head under a shelf. This was reported to defendant Malloy, who asked Guy what he was doing. Guy responded that he was just "kidding around". Id. at 97-99. Officer Malloy stated she had no reason to believe that Guy was in any danger. Id. at 99. When Officer Whipple took over the shift a short time later, Officer Malloy told him about Guy's behavior, and the two made a bed check of Guy, who appeared to be fine. Id. at 106-07. Subsequent checks on the inmates at approximately 12:55, 1:45, 2:55, and 3:40 a.m. on February 29 indicated that all was "quiet and secure." Submission in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, Vol. II, Exhibit H, Daily Logs.
At about 4:40 a.m. on Monday, February 29, Guy was found hanging in his cell from a noose made of bed sheets tied to a sprinkler head. The Elliotts were informed of his death at about 9:30 that morning.
The thrust of plaintiff's section 1983 claim is that the individual defendants failed to provide necessary medical and psychiatric services, failed to implement safeguards to prevent injury, failed to properly observe and supervise decedent, and failed to assess Guy's suicidal tendencies. Complaint at ¶¶ 41-45, 63. All named defendants are sued in their individual and official capacities.2 Plaintiff also alleges that the county insufficiently staffed the jail, failed to properly train officers, and improperly designed, maintained, and constructed the jail. Complaint at ¶¶ 52, 56. Defendants move for summary judgment, asserting qualified immunity, and argue that neither the actions of the defendants nor the policies, actions, or alleged omissions of the county constitute wanton callousness or deliberate indifference to Guy's Fourteenth Amendment rights.
The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials performing discretionary functions "from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory and constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). "The contours of the right `must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.'" Fonte v. Collins, 898 F.2d 284, 295 (1st Cir.1990) (quoting Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3039, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987)).
The right in question, however, cannot be simply a generalized right, like the right to due process. Anderson, 483 U.S. at 639, 107 S.Ct. at 3038-39. It must be clearly established in a "particularized" sense.... This...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Hare v. City of Corinth, Miss.
...absolute right to psychological screening. Bowen v. City of Manchester, 966 F.2d 13, 19 (1st Cir.1992); Elliott v. Cheshire County, New Hampshire, 750 F.Supp. 1146, 1155 (D.N.H.1990). Ironically, two post-Burns cases from the Fifth Circuit discuss, at length, municipal liability predicated ......
-
Castro v. Cnty. of L.A.
...in support of its argument to the contrary. See Molton v. City of Cleveland, 839 F.2d 240, 246 (6th Cir.1988) ; Elliott v. Cheshire Cnty., 750 F.Supp. 1146, 1156 (D.N.H.1990), aff'd in part and vacated in part, 940 F.2d 7 (1st Cir.1991) ; Shouse v. Daviess Cnty., No. 4:06–cv–144–M, 2009 WL ......
-
Elliott v. Cheshire County, N.H.
...district court determined that the named defendants were entitled to qualified immunity, and granted summary judgment on that ground. 750 F.Supp. 1146. Qualified immunity protects public officials "from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly establishe......
-
Graham v. Van Der Veur
...it and failing to screen prisoners to determine whether or not they require medical attention. Id. at 1244; Elliott v. Cheshire Co., 750 F.Supp. 1146, 1151-1153 (D.N.H.1990) (emphasizing that prison officials have no responsibility to anticipate or screen prisoners, in the context of a pris......