Rivera v. Cameron Cnty.
| Decision Date | 13 April 2022 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action B: 19-cv-141 |
| Parties | ROBERTO RIVERA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CAMERON COUNTY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas |
On July 24, 2019, Plaintiffs Roberto Rivera, Margarita Angulo Rivera and Gabriel Benito Rivera (“Plaintiffs”) filed a civil rights lawsuit. Dkt. No. 1. The Plaintiffs are the heirs and representatives of the estate of Gabriel Angulo Rivera (“Rivera”), who died while in the custody of the Carrizales Rucker Detention Center. Id. The Plaintiffs are suing Defendants Jaime Flores, Angelo Caballero, Ismael Gonzalez, Erasmo Salazar, Jacob Aguirre Arnoldo Cantu Jr., Leonel Rodriguez, Omar A. Pena, Arquimedes Torres III, Roldan Aviles, Jorge Barrera (“individual Defendants”) as well as Cameron County.
On January 13, 2022, the individual Defendants and Cameron County filed a motion for summary judgment. Dkt. No. 79. On February 7, 2022, the Plaintiffs filed a response. Dkt. No 86. The motion has been fully briefed. The parties have consented to have this case decided by the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Dkt. No. 31.
After reviewing the record and the relevant case law, the Court ORDERS that the motion for summary judgment be granted. The Plaintiffs have failed to show a genuine dispute of material fact as to their claims.
Rivera was a former professional boxer, who was trained by his father. Dkt. No. 8717, p. 6. According to his son, Rivera competed in Golden Gloves boxing matches and was a Texas state champion. Dkt. No. 87-19, p. 10. After retiring from boxing, Rivera worked as a boxing trainer. Id., p. 9. Rivera was five feet, nine inches tall and weighed 208 pounds. Dkt. No. 88-11, p. 21. At one point, Rivera told a medical professional that had suffered over 300 concussions because of his boxing career. Id., p. 55.
Veronica Sanchez Marquez, Rivera's girlfriend, stated that he suffered from drug and alcohol addiction. Dkt. No. 79-1, p. 5. She also stated that he was often in pain from his boxing injuries. Id. On one instance when Rivera tried to stop drinking cold turkey, he “was always in the restroom throwing up” for two or three days. Id., p. 6. She also reported that Rivera told her that he was bipolar. Id., p. 10.
There was an arrest warrant issued for Rivera for driving while intoxicated charge in July 2017. Dkt. No. 79-4, p. 5. He was also wanted on a warrant for failing to appear at a child support hearing. Id., pp. 6-8.
On March 20, 2019, Rivera was arrested and booked in the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office based on the two outstanding arrest warrants. Dkt. No. 79-4, p. 9. On March 21, 2019, Rivera was booked at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center. Id., pp. 3, 37
At the time that Rivera was booked at Carrizales-Rucker, he reported that he had four prescriptions: venlafaxine[1], quetiapine[2], naltrexone[3], and hydroxyzine[4]. Dkt. No. 802, p. 65. The nurse who examined him noted that Rivera did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol or in withdrawal from either. Id., p. 66. Rivera reported to the nurse that he drank a 24 pack of beer each day but had last ingested alcohol three days earlier. Id. He also reported that he expected to experience symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol and marijuana. Dkt. No. 88-11, p. 67. Nurse “T. Lopez” filled out a form to refer him for an assessment by a doctor. Id., p. 21. Rivera was not seen by a doctor, but the nurse's notes indicate that the nurse texted Dr. Almeida regarding Rivera's medications. Id., p. 22. Dr. Almeida told the nurse to continue Rivera on naltrexone for two weeks; continue use of the venlafaxine; to use hydroxyzine as part of the withdrawal protocol; and continue us of the quetiapine, but watch for any instances of Rivera hoarding the medication. Id.
On March 22, 2019, Rivera was seen by a Jail Diversion worker from Tropical Texas Behavioral Health. Dkt. No. 88-11, p. 55. He told the worker that he was suffering from sweating, which he believed “stemmed from his alcohol consumption and that he feels like he is going through withdrawals from alcohol.” Id. Rivera also reported that he was feeling anxious and was “not sure if it is a withdrawal symptom or just him developing anxiety as well.” Id.
Just before 3 p.m. on that same day, Rivera called his girlfriend from the jail phone and the call was recorded. Dkt. No. 88. During the call, Rivera told her, Id., p. 2. At the end of the call, he told her, Id., p. 7.
Just after 4 p.m. - roughly 70 minutes later - Rivera called his girlfriend again. Dkt. No. 88-1. He mentioned to her that he wanted someone to help him out “with better meds.” Id., p. 7.
At some unspecified point during this time, Jailer Ismael Gonzalez had a conversation with Rivera in a booking cell. Dkt. No. 87-4, pp. 10-11. Gonzalez said that Rivera talked “about how he wanted to get out but they weren't letting him get out, and then he also mentioned how he would drink a lot and that he thought it was going to affect him.” Dkt. No. 87-4, p. 10. Gonzalez said that Rivera was “lucid” during this conversation. Id.
On March 23, 2019, Rivera called his girlfriend again. Dkt. No. 88-2. He expressed a fear that other inmates were “plotting” to “turn and fucking jump on me.” Id., p. 5. He also told her that he hadn't “really been eating.” Id., p. 7.
On that same day, Rivera signed a form, indicating that he was refusing his venlafaxine and naltrexone medications. Dkt. No. 88-11, p. 53.
On March 24, 2019, Rivera called his girlfriend around 1:00 p.m. Dkt. No. 88-3. He accused her of cheating on him the previous night, saying that he heard her having sex with the man “in the other room.” Id., p. 3. He claimed that his phone had a video where he had a gun in his mouth and his girlfriend pulled the trigger next to his head. Id., p. 6. During the call, Rivera denied that he was in jail the night before, but claimed that he and four other inmates were in a big house in San Benito. Id., pp. 8-9. Rivera demanded that his girlfriend give him the phone number of a mutual friend, but she refused. Id.
Roughly 20 minutes later, Rivera called her back, demanding the number and again accusing her of cheating the previous night. Dkt. No. 88-4. She, again, refused to give him the mutual friend's phone number and eventually hung up on him. Id.
At 2:00 p.m., Licensed Vocational Nurse Pedro Botello noted that Rivera was brought to the infirmary for his vital signs to be checked and for an assessment because of a “family concern of him having a history of alcohol abuse.” Dkt. No. 88-11, p. 20. Botello noted that Rivera was alert and “oriented x3.”[5] Id.
At around 2:10 p.m., Rivera called his girlfriend again, demanding the phone number. Dkt. No. 88-5. She refused, saying, “I already talked to Sylvia, she didn't want to talk to you.” Id., p. 3. Rivera again accused her of cheating on him the previous night and continued demanding the phone number. Id.
At 2:48 p.m., Rivera called his girlfriend again. Dkt. No. 88-6. She told him that she was planning to visit him. Id., p. 2. When he asked, “where?” she replied, “Carrizales.” Id. He told her that he was not at Carrizales, but that “It's like I'm [at] some school shit.” Id., p. 3. He claimed that he could “just walk out of here, ” presumably meaning the jail. Id. Rivera continued to claim that his girlfriend had cheated on him and said that his son's birthday was the previous day, when it was not. Id., p. 7. Rivera's girlfriend took the call while she was driving to the jail to check on him. Id.
Around 4:45 p.m., Rivera called his girlfriend again. Dkt. No. 88-7. He asked where she was, accusing her of being with the man he had imagined her cheating on him with. Id., p. 2. She told him:
Baby, I went home [from visiting the jail] because they told me that you didn't have no visitation. So, I came home. Then I called medical and was asking them what was going on with you because you were being delusional with me. You were being nasty and crazy with me. So, they called me, his visitations have changed because they moved you to another cell by yourself. What happened?
Rivera claimed that it was because he had a seizure. Id. When his girlfriend asked why he didn't tell her that, he claimed that he had told her earlier, but she hadn't listened. Id. Rivera had not mentioned any seizure in his previous calls. Rivera then questioned his girlfriend about whether the guy he accused her of cheating with had a venereal disease, such as AIDS or chlamydia. Id., pp. 3-4. Rivera also claimed that his girlfriend had left him $300 on his window the previous night. Id., p. 5.
At 11:00 p.m., the jailers removed Rivera from his cell because the other inmates advised the jailers that “they did not want [Rivera] in [the] cell.” Dkt. No. 88-13, p. 10. Rivera was moved to a different cell for his own safety. Id.
On March 25, 2019, at around 12:23 a.m. - less than 90 minutes later - Rivera was again removed from his cell when the inmates informed jail officials that they did not want Rivera in the new cell with them. Dkt. No. 88-13, p. 12.
At 5:10 a.m., Corporal Emanuel Zepeda responded to a call that an inmate wanted to speak to a supervisor. Dkt. No. 88-13, p 14. Zepeda met with Rivera and noticed that Rivera “began to show signs of erratic behavior, ” leading Zepeda to request that Rivera be...
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