Gray v. Spillman

Citation925 F.2d 90
Decision Date07 February 1991
Docket NumberNo. 89-7740,89-7740
PartiesJohnny GRAY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Detective SPILLMAN; Detective Bishop; Detective Riggs; Detective Cartner, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)

Edwin Norris Wilmot, Eliades & Eliades, Hopewell, Va., for plaintiff-appellant.

Michael Austin Gilles, argued (Martin N. Erwin, Smith, Helms, Mulliss & Moore, Greensboro, N.C., Allan R. Gitter, Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, N.C., on brief), for defendants-appellees.

Before ERVIN, Chief Judge, and MURNAGHAN and CHAPMAN, Circuit Judges.

MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judge:

Johnny Gray instituted a 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 action against three police officers and a jailer, alleging that the officers beat and injured him during two custodial interrogations. The district court, relying on the magistrate judge's recommendation, granted summary judgment for the defendants. The magistrate judge had concluded that the affidavits indisputably showed that Gray had not suffered any serious physical injury. Gray has appealed the district court's judgment.

We reverse the district court's judgment in favor of the police officers because serious injury is not an essential element of a Sec. 1983 action when the claim is predicated on being beaten and threatened during custodial interrogation. We affirm, however, the court's summary judgment for defendant Billie L. Cartner, the jailer, as the affidavits overwhelmingly demonstrate that he could not have been deliberately indifferent to Gray's serious medical needs.

I.

Instituting the Sec. 1983 action in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Winston-Salem Division, Gray alleged that Winston-Salem police officers Robert A. Spillman, Kenneth W. Bishop, and William P. Riggs beat and injured him during two interrogations and that Sergeant Cartner of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department deliberately failed to provide medical treatment for his injuries. The interrogations occurred on December 11 and 14, 1987, while Gray was confined in the Forsyth County Jail awaiting trial on burglary and robbery charges.

With respect to the December 11 interrogation, Gray asserted that Spillman, Bishop, and Riggs took him out of the jail to an interrogation room in the Winston-Salem Public Safety Building to speak with him about the Gilmore case, in which Gray was a suspect. They handcuffed Gray to a chair, and, according to Gray, the handcuffs were so tight that his hands became swollen. Spillman asked Gray about the Mabe case instead of the Gilmore case, but Gray refused to answer without the presence of his attorney. Gray alleged that he was kept in the room for several hours without food, water, and cigarettes and was not allowed to use the restroom.

Gray also claimed that Spillman ordered him to stand up and then shoved his face into a wall, injuring his lip and knocking loose three of his front teeth. Gray alleged that the officers continued the interrogation, making racist remarks and threatening to beat him further if he would not confess to robbing Mabe. According to Gray, Spillman told him, "You are going to tell me that you took something from Mr. Mabe before you leave here or I am going to beat the hell out of you." Upon Gray's return to the jail, Cartner failed to get medical attention for Gray.

With respect to the December 14 interrogation, Gray claimed that he told Cartner that he did not want to go with the officers because he was afraid of being assaulted but Cartner told him that he had to go with them. Gray was again taken to the Public Safety Building for more questioning. He claimed that the officers attempted to get him to sign both an incriminating statement and a waiver of counsel. When he refused, Bishop allegedly kicked Gray's right foot, causing severe pain and swelling. Gray eventually did make an incriminating statement, which was not used by the prosecution at Gray's subsequent criminal trial.

Gray's Sec. 1983 complaint alleged that, as a result of the two interrogations, he sustained damage to his right foot, his teeth, and his right hand, and he needed corrective surgery to repair his lip. He sought damages for his injuries, pain and suffering, and mental anguish.

The defendants admitted that they interviewed Gray on the two dates in question in the Public Safety Building. But they denied beating, threatening, or assaulting Gray. The defendants moved for summary judgment and introduced the following evidence in support of their position:

1. Officers Spillman, Bishop, and Riggs, in separate affidavits, acknowledged the two interviews with Gray but denied assaulting or threatening him.

2. Officer Michael V. McCoy said in an affidavit that he stepped into the interrogation room on December 11 but did not see any evidence that Gray had been injured.

3. Officers Otis Sterling Belton and Deborah Anderson Gatto, who escorted Gray back to the jail on December 11 stated in affidavits that Gray did not complain about being assaulted nor did they see any indication that Gray had been assaulted.

4. Darryll W. Ford and Reginald C. Craven, both inmates at the jail, stated in affidavits that they did not see any indication that Gray had ever been assaulted. Craven also stated that Gray later told him that his front teeth had been knocked loose in a fight at a pool hall. Ford stated that Gray had asked him to submit a false statement in the case and offered to pay him money. Craven recanted a previous statement he made in favor of Gray, claiming it was untrue and made pursuant to Gray's threats.

5. Deputies William J. Purvis and Jesse T. Owens stated in affidavits that they did not see any sign of physical injury upon examining Gray at the jail. Owens did state, however, that Gray submitted a request for medical attention on December 16, 1987.

6. Cartner stated in an affidavit that he was not on duty on December 14, 1987, as Gray had alleged; jail records confirmed that assertion. He said that he was informed on December 16 that Gray alleged that he had been physically assaulted but an examination performed by his deputies uncovered no evidence of injury. Cartner stated that he never had a reason to believe that Gray had been assaulted.

7. Dr. Robert T. Jackson, a member of the medical staff at Central Prison, stated in an affidavit that a medical history was made of Gray in May 1988, upon Gray's arrival at the prison. That history, completed five months after the December interrogations, confirmed that Gray had a loose front tooth and had suffered injuries to his right foot and hand but the history also indicated that Gray's problems with his right foot and hand stemmed from injuries that had occurred long before December 1987. Further, Ray A. Drewey, a physician's assistant at the prison, stated in an affidavit that in August 1988 Gray complained of swelling in his right foot and hand, claiming that the swelling was caused by the December interrogations. While Drewey admitted that an examination revealed some swelling, he also stated that Dr. Jackson had earlier concluded that Gray's problems predated December 1987.

8. Dr. Larry H. Ray, a dentist at Central Prison, stated in an affidavit that Gray complained of a loose tooth in May 1988. Ray said that he found no loose teeth but did discover severe loss of bone due to periodontal disease.

Evidence in the record in opposition to the defendants' motion for summary judgment included the following:

1. Gray's own deposition testimony, in which he reiterated his allegations of being threatened and beaten during the December 11 and 14 interrogations. Gray also denied threatening Craven to prevail on him to submit a favorable affidavit.

2. James K. Hines, an inmate at Central Prison, stated in an affidavit that he was at the jail on December 11 to post bond for a friend. When he arrived, he saw Gray accompanied by Spillman, Bishop, and Riggs. Hines said that about three hours later he saw two other officers bringing Gray back and that Gray was bleeding from his mouth "real bad." He also said he saw Gray ask Sergeant Cartner to take him to a doctor and that Cartner refused. Hines also swore that while in prison he was visited by Donald York, the defendants' investigator, who tried to bribe and threaten him out of testifying on Gray's behalf. York submitted an affidavit denying these allegations. York also stated in his affidavit that the official log of the jail's visitors contained no record of any visit from Hines and that Hines failed to identify the person for whom he posted bail during his alleged December 11, 1987, visit to the jail.

The magistrate judge concluded that "a fair-minded jury could not return a verdict for [Gray] on the evidence before the Court." The magistrate judge reasoned that the existence of a serious physical injury resulting from the interrogations was "one of the essential bases for [Gray's] claim" and that "[Gray] fail[ed] to present any substantial evidence of injury, much less a serious injury." The district court affirmed the findings and rulings of the magistrate judge, granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, and dismissed the suit. Gray has appealed the district court's judgment.

II.
A.

The magistrate judge reasoned, and the defendants now argue, that serious physical injury is an essential element of a Sec. 1983 claim predicated on force used during custodial interrogation. That proposition led the magistrate judge, and ultimately the district court, to the conclusion that Gray could not make out a Sec. 1983 claim.

In King v. Blankenship, 636 F.2d 70 (4th Cir.1980), we held that injury was not an essential element of a Sec. 1983 claim based on excessive force. Id. at 72. In that case, Emmitt King, a prisoner, was called before a prison disciplinary committee for a hearing on a charge against him. Id. at 71-72. The chairman of the committee grabbed King by the...

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