Moses v. Westchester Cnty. Dep't of Corr., 10 Civ. 9468 (ER)
| Decision Date | 29 September 2017 |
| Docket Number | 10 Civ. 9468 (ER) |
| Parties | MANUEL MOSES, as Administrator D.B.N. of the Goods, Chattels, and Credits which were of Zoran Teodorovic, Deceased, Plaintiff, v. WESTCHESTER COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, WESTCHESTER COUNTY, and PAUL M. COTÉ, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Ramos, D.J.:
Before the Court are Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and the cross-motion of Defendants Westchester County Department of Correction ("DOC") and Westchester County ("County") (together, the "County Defendants") for summary judgment.1 For the following reasons, Plaintiff's motion is DENIED and County Defendants' cross-motion is GRANTED.
In early October, 2000,3 Zoran Teodorovic ("Teodorovic"), a 46 year old man of Serbian origin, was arrested for criminal trespass in the second degree by the Mount Vernon Police. Pl.'s56.1 ¶ 16; Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 153. He was unable to pay bail and was detained at the Westchester County Jail ("Jail") in Valhalla, New York while awaiting trial. Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 1, 17. Upon his admittance, Teodorovic showed signs of depression and other potentially abnormal behavior, and he was therefore placed in the cell block where individuals with mental health issues were housed. Id. ¶¶ 18-19.
In the late afternoon of October 10, 2000, Correction Officer ("C.O.") John Reimer ("Reimer") ordered Teodorovic to clean his cell. Id. ¶ 20. Teodorovic refused. Id. As a result, Reimer assigned another inmate to clean his cell instead. Id. After the inmate was done cleaning, Reimer, who was in the control room, used the announcement system to order Teodorovic into his cell, but Teodorovic was unresponsive to that order. Id. After Teodorovic failed to respond, Reimer exited the control room and entered the housing unit where Teodorovic was located. Id. ¶¶ 20-21.
The exact details of what happened next are not entirely clear. The initial reports of the incident filed by Reimer and defendant C.O. Paul Coté ("Coté ") stated that at approximately 5:09 p.m., Teodorovic struck Reimer in the face and that Reimer and Coté then restrained Teodorovic, wrestling him to the floor. See Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 22. They claimed that Teodorovic injured his head in the process. Id. However, Reimer later admitted that these initial reports were false. Id. Specifically, on December 3, 2001, Reimer filed a sworn statement with the DOC's Special Investigation Unit ("SIU") in which he described that after the incident, Sergeant Woods ("Woods"),4 against protocol, handed him a copy of Coté's report and assisted Reimer in fabricating details of the incident to be consistent with Coté's narrative. See Pl.'s 56.1 Ex. 6.Reimer's sworn statement indicated that Woods encouraged him to file the inaccurate report because they needed to "cover [their] ass[es]" and make sure everything was in line. Id. at 5. Specifically, Reimer indicated that he and Coté omitted from their reports that Teodorovic's head injury was not caused by the fall to the ground, but because Coté repeatedly kicked and punched him in the head. Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 22-23; Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 170.5
After the incident, the alarm was sounded, and among the first responding officers were the Emergency Response Team ("ERT"). Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 33-34. At approximately 5:10 p.m., ERT took custody of Teodorovic, handcuffed him, and assessed his physical condition. Id. ¶¶ 34-35; Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 155. Teodorovic was lying on the floor, unresponsive, and there was blood around his head. Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 35-36. One of the responders, Sergeant Gannon ("Gannon"), then signaled a "code 3," seeking medical assistance, and removed the handcuffs. Id. Gannon later testified in Coté's federal criminal trial that he witnessed Coté and Reimer restraining Teodorovic on the floor while he appeared unconscious, and that Coté was using profanity and yelling at Teodorovic, Id. ¶ 37.6
After the incident, at approximately 6:05 p.m. that evening, Teodorovic was admitted to Westchester County Medical Center with serious injuries. Id. ¶¶ 28, 77; Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 157. A trauma consultation was immediately ordered, Teodorovic was intubated, and he received various x-rays. Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 28. Approximately four hours after he was admitted, the hospital conducted a neurosurgery evaluation, and a head scan was completed around midnight. Id. Asecond head scan was performed about an hour and a half later. Id. Dr. Deborah Benzil, the Director of Neurotrauma at the Westchester County Medical Center, was the neurosurgeon on call who examined and treated Teodorovic. United States v. Coté, 544 F.3d 88, 91 (2d Cir. 2008); see also Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 28. She testified at trial about the injuries she observed, noting extensive external and internal injuries to his face and head, including "extensive bruising" behind the left eye and on the right cheek, abrasions and lacerations on his head, blood in his right ear, "extensive swelling" on both sides of the back of his head, and multiple fractures in several areas. Coté, 544 F.3d at 91. Teodorovic later lapsed into a coma at the medical facility. Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 77; Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 157. Teodorovic remained in a coma for the next fourteen months, and died on December 21, 2001. Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 204.
Assistant Warden O'Neill was present at the Jail at the time of the incident. Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 45. The parties dispute whether he was the highest-ranking officer present and when he became aware of the incident. See Defs.' 56.1 ¶¶ 45-47. Plaintiff alleges that O'Neill made no effort to investigate the incident or Teodorovic's condition, and did not preserve the scene of the incident. Plaintiff's Memorandum of Law in Support of Summary Judgment ("Pl.'s Mem. L.") (Doc. 165) at 13. On October 10, 2000, at approximately 9:45 p.m., the matter was referred to SIU. Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 194. Later that same night, the Jail also reported the incident to the New York State Commission of Correction. Id. ¶ 47.7
The following day, October 11, 2000, the DOC suspended Coté. Id. ¶ 195. That same day, at approximately 9:30 a.m., SIU notified the Westchester County Police Department ("WCPD") about the incident, which then assumed the investigation. Id. ¶ 47. That same day,the WCPD went to the hospital, documented Teodorovic's injuries, spoke with his physician, and interviewed Coté. See Pl.'s 56.1 Ex. 82 at 7. The WCPD's investigation culminated in Coté's arrest on November 15, 2000. Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 196. A grand jury subsequently indicted Coté on two counts of assault in the first degree in violation of Section 120.10 of the New York Penal Law. Id. ¶ 197; see also Coté, 544 F.3d at 91.
On January 5, 2001, the DOC imposed formal disciplinary charges against Coté. Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 198. On July 13, 2001, a state jury acquitted Coté of assault in the first degree but convicted him of the lesser-included offense of assault in the second degree (i.e., reckless assault). Id. ¶ 199. Coté was sentenced to three months of incarceration, and served two months before being released on November 27, 2001. Id.; see also Coté, 544 F.3d at 91. That same day, the DOC terminated Coté from his employment. Id. ¶ 200. The following month, on December 21, 2001, Teodorovic passed away while still in the coma. See id. ¶¶ 200, 204. The Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was a "homicidal assault." Id. ¶ 200.
On November 20, 2000, while Teodorovic was still in a coma and Coté's state criminal prosecution was proceeding, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") opened an inquiry into whether Coté used excessive force against Teodorovic. Coté, 544 F.3d at 91. On March 22, 2002, the FBI requested that the DOC turn over all of its records relating to the incident. Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 41. On April 30, 2002, the DOC turned over to the FBI its SIU records relating to the matter, along with Coté's personnel file. Id.
Approximately four years later, on February 6, 2006, Coté was indicted by a grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York for violating 18 U.S.C. § 242, the criminal counterpart of § 1983, and, on September 20, 2006, was convicted by a federal jury of that charge. Id. ¶ 210; see also Coté, 544 F.3d at 92, 96. However, the district judge overturned theconviction. Id. at 96. On September 24, 2008, the Second Circuit reversed and upheld the conviction. Id.
Reimer was granted immunity for the incident and testified for the Government as a witness in Coté's federal criminal trial. Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 24; see also Coté, 544 F.3d at 92.8 After the events in question, he was promoted twice, first to Sergeant, and later to Captain. Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 32. He has since retired from his employment with DOC. Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 32.
On August 30, 2007, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York notified Westchester County of its intent to conduct an investigation at the Jail pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act ("CRIPA"). See Pl.'s 56.1 Ex. 83 ("DOJ Report") at 1.9 The DOJ conducted an on-site inspection of the Jail from February 25 to 28, 2008. Id. As part of the investigation, the DOJ reviewed hundreds of use of force incidents from 2006-2007, dozens of which were captured on videotape, and found that the Jail "inadequately review[ed] use of force incidents to prevent a pattern of use of excessive force against inmates" and "fail[ed] to maintain an adequate detainee grievance system, further contributing to the problems of monitoring andinvestigat[ing] use of force incidents." Id. at 8, 13, 16. Additionally, with respect to excessive force, the DOJ found that the County failed to: (1) maintain an adequate use of force reporting mechanism; (2) adequately discipline officers for using excessive force against inmates; and (3) initiate...
To continue reading
Request your trial