Jordan v. Gautreaux

• Decision Date: 25 March 2022
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 21-48-JWD-SDJ
• Parties: Shaheedra JORDAN, et al. v. Sid J. GAUTREAUX III, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Louisiana

593 F.Supp.3d 330

Shaheedra JORDAN, et al.

v.Sid J. GAUTREAUX III, et al.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 21-48-JWD-SDJ

United States District Court, M.D. Louisiana.

Signed March 25, 2022

Christopher James Murell, Murell Law Firm, New Orleans, LA, Lance Covington Unglesby, Adrian Michael Simm, Jr., Lewis Unglesby, Sr., Unglesby Law Firm, Dedrick Arvell Moore, The Law Office of Dedrick a.Moore, LLC, Ronald S. Haley, Jr., Baton Rouge, LA, for Shaheedra Jordan, Sahara Claiborne, Leiaja Claiborne.

Catherine S. St. Pierre, Erlingson Banks, Baton Rouge, LA, for Sid J. Gautreaux, III, Dennis Grimes, Jacob Page, Kenyaki Domino, Damien King, Michael Britt, Minor, Rodney Johnson, Joe Coleman, Jermaine Cruz, Unknown Grant, Unknown Leader.

Arthur Howell Andrews, Baton Rouge, LA, for Parish of East Baton Rouge.

Kyle P. Kirsch, Emma Madison Barton, Sarah Day, Wanek Kirsch Davies LLC, New Orleans, LA, for Correct Health, Carlo Musso, Jean Llovet.

RULING AND ORDER ON SHERIFF DEFENDANTS’ AND THE PARISH'S MOTIONS TO DISMISS

JOHN W. deGRAVELLES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter comes before the Court on two of the four pending Rule 12(b)(6) motions in this case. The first is the Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 13) filed by defendants Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux, III, in his capacity as Sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish ("Gautreaux" or the "Sheriff"); Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Grimes, Warden of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison ("Grimes"); Corporal Jacob Page; Deputy Kenyaki Domino; Corporal Damien King; Corporal Michael Britt; Corporal Justin Minor; Deputy Rodney Johnson; Deputy Joe Coleman; Sergeant Jermaine Cruz; Lieutenant Grant; and Captain Leader (collectively, "Sheriff Defendants"). This motion will be referred to as the Sheriff Defs.’ MTD.

The second motion is the Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief May Be Granted Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (Doc. 15) filed by the Parish of East Baton Rouge (the "Parish"). This motion shall be referred to as the Parish's MTD.

The other two pending motions are the Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint against CHEBR (Doc. 25) filed by defendant CorrectHealth East Baton Rouge, LLC ("CorrectHealth") and the Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint Against Musso and Llovet (Doc. 26) filed by defendants Dr. Carlo Musso and Jean Llovet. The Court will rule on these two motions in a separate order.

Plaintiffs Shaheedra Jordan, Sahara Claiborne, Leiaja Claiborne (collectively, "Plaintiffs") oppose all motions. Relevant here, Plaintiffs file one opposition to both Sheriff Defs.’ MTD and the Parish's MTD. (Doc. 24.)

Sheriff Defendants filed a reply in support of their motion. (Doc. 30.) The Parish, however, did not.

Oral argument is not necessary. The Court has carefully considered the law, the facts in the record, and the arguments and submissions of the parties and is prepared to rule. For the following reasons, Sheriff Defs.’ MTD is granted in part and denied in part, and the Parish's MTD is denied.

I. Relevant Factual Background

A. Introduction

The case involves the suicide of a pretrial detainee at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison ("EBRPP"). Plaintiffs are the children of the deceased detainee, Shaheed Claiborne ("Claiborne"). (First Am. Compl. with Jury Demand Filed with Consent of Opp. ("FAC ") ¶ 1, Doc. 9.) Plaintiffs bring this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 asserting individual and official capacity claims. (Id. ¶¶ 49–62.) Plaintiffs also assert state law claims. (Id. ¶¶ 63–73.)

As to the § 1983 official capacity claims, Plaintiffs sue the Parish as the "entity responsible for funding operations of the [EBRPP]" and as the party that "negotiates, approves, funds, and enters into contracts with other entities to provide medical and mental health services at the jail[.]" (Id. ¶ 1(a).) Defendant CorrectHealth was, during these events, "the private medical and mental health care provider under contract with [the] Parish to provide medical and mental health treatment and care to the individuals incarcerated at EBRPP." (Id. ¶ 1(o).) Sheriff Gautreaux is also sued in his official capacity, though the FAC does not detail the scope of his policymaking authority. (Id. ¶ 1(b)) Captain Leader is alleged to be a "supervisory officer at EBRPP" and is sued in both his individual and official capacities. (Id. ¶ 1(m).)

The following allegations are taken from the FAC. They are assumed to be true for purposes of this motion and construed in a light most favorable to Plaintiffs. Thompson v. City of Waco, Tex. , 764 F.3d 500, 502–03 (5th Cir. 2014).

B. Claiborne's Arrest and Processing

On January 18, 2020, Claiborne was devastated by the loss of his mother, who was a renowned civil rights activist and whose death received considerable publicity in the news media and on social media. (FAC ¶¶ 4–8, Doc. 9.) Following his mother's death, Claiborne was in a state of severe emotional distress. (Id. ¶ 8.)

On that day, Claiborne tried to gain entry to a drug and alcohol recovery center before it opened. (Id. ) He was refused admission. (Id. ¶ 9.) He then began kicking and ramming the door to gain entry. (Id. )

Claiborne "was subsequently involved in a minor altercation with bystanders, but soon after got into his vehicle to leave the property." (Id. ¶ 10.) But, shortly thereafter, he "re-entered the property and crashed his vehicle into an electric pole, knocking out the power to the business." (Id. ¶ 11.) At the time of the crash, he was seen having "red dilated eyes[.]" (Id. ¶ 12.)

Claiborne was then arrested by the Baton Rouge Police Department ("BRPD"). (Id. ¶ 13.) Captain Sandridge of the BRPD called defendant Corporal Page of the EBRPP. (Id. ¶ 14.) Sandridge informed Page that Claiborne was "in route," and he advised Page to be on "high alert." (Id. ¶ 14.) The captain also told Page that Claiborne "was very strong and had ‘mental health issues.’ " (Id. )

When Claiborne arrived, he was "medically processed by Supervisor Nurse Brumfield." (Id. ¶ 15.) While Claiborne was in Medical Intake, Lieutenant Grimes informed Page that, "due to mental health concerns, Mr. Claiborne should be placed in a one-man cell until he received a mental health assessment; subsequently, Corporal Page relayed this information to Nurse Brumfield, who put Mr. Claiborne on mental health observation shortly thereafter." (Id. ¶ 16.)

As Claiborne was "being dressed out in the intake bathroom," he "was talking to himself" and "repeating[,] ‘Lord, give me the strength to remain calm.’ " (Id. ¶ 17.) Plaintiffs allege:

Corporal Page and Deputy Baker issued Mr. Claiborne a yellow smock rather than a cloth jumpsuit, per his mental health observation status. The reason for the issuance of yellow smock is the risk of suicide known to the Sheriff and its medical staff of inmates suffering mental health issues. The choice of the smock was because of the known risk of suicide Mr. Claiborne potentially presented.

(Id. ¶ 18.) Claiborne called his family, and then Page took him to "N01—the special needs housing unit—to Cell #3." (Id. )

C. Claiborne's Suicide

On Sunday, January 19, 2020, one day following his arrest, "a member of the medical staff, John Doe #6, met with ... Claiborne and removed him from mental health observation, and the required restrictions thereof." (FAC ¶ 20, Doc. 9.) Doe #6 did this "[d]espite all of the knowledge of the Sheriff's Office and its medical staff of ... Claiborne's mental health crisis and symptoms[.]" (Id. )

Doe #6 gave Claiborne a cloth jumpsuit to replace the yellow smock he had previously been given. (Id. ¶ 21.) Plaintiffs allege, "This is the same kind of cloth jumpsuit not originally provided to Mr. Claiborne due to his acute mental health issues, which were known to the Sheriff's Office and its medical staff—including the risk of Mr. Claiborne committing suicide." (Id. )

Plaintiffs then provide a time line of events of Monday, January 20, 2020:

• "[A]t 1:35am, according to video surveillance, a smock or clothing garment was taken from an inmate, possibly Mr. Claiborne." (Id. ¶ 22.)

• "At 1:43am, [defendant] Deputy Domino made rounds and can be seen on video surveillance speaking to an inmate near the first few cells." (Id. ¶ 23.)

• "At 2:22am, Deputy Domino made rounds and can be seen on video surveillance walking about halfway down the line before returning to the control cage." (Id. ¶ 24.)

• Between 2:22 a.m. and 3:14 a.m., "a period of 52 minutes[,]" the "[m]otion-detection triggered video surveillance of N01 displayed ‘no activations.’ " (Id. ¶ 25.)

• "At 3:14am, Deputy Domino began rounds, and knowing Mr. Claiborne was in Cell #3, Deputy Domino walked directly and immediately to Cell #3 where he found Mr. Claiborne hanging from his cell bars by his recently-issued cloth jumpsuit." (Id. ¶ 26.) "At this time, Deputy Domino called for assistance, and [defendants] Corporal King, Corporal Britt, Corporal Minor, and Deputy Johnson arrived thereafter." (Id. ¶ 27.) At first, they tried to untie the knots in the jumpsuit, but that did not work. (Id. ) They eventually got a knife to cut Claiborne down. (Id. )

• Around 3:18 a.m., Claiborne was taken down, and the officers began to administer CPR. (Id. ¶ 28.)

• About one minute later, Nurses Foy and Chapman arrived to aid with CPR. (Id. ¶ 29.) Chapman told Page that Claiborne "might have had a faint pulse, but she could not feel it." (Id. )

• "Not until 3:21am—at least a full seven minutes after Mr. Claiborne was found hanging—was EMS notified." (Id. ¶ 30.) Around this time, Nurse Brumfield came with oxygen, followed by BR Fire and Rescue. (Id. ¶ 31.)

• "Around 3:44am, EMS arrived to assist, leaving around six to ten minutes later having determined that Mr. Claiborne was deceased." (Id. ¶ 32.)

Plaintiffs allege that an "investigation and subsequent report by Detective Auzenne" showed that Claiborne "had been displaying odd behavior in the hours prior to his death[.]" (Id. ¶ 33.) "The inmate in Cell #1 heard Mr. Claiborne talking out loud to God[.]" (Id. ) Another ...