Santiago v. Blair
| Decision Date | 27 February 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. 11–3693.,11–3693. |
| Citation | 707 F.3d 984 |
| Parties | Victor SANTIAGO, Plaintiff–Appellee v. Daniel BLAIR, Lieutenant, Potosi Correctional Center, Individually and Officially; Timothy Williford, Correctional Officer I, Potosi Correctional Center, Individually and Officially; Andrew Fox, Correctional Officer I, Potosi Correctional Officer, Individually and Officially; Garry Branch, Captain, Potosi Correctional Center, Individually and Officially; Shannon Clubbs, Correctional Officer, Potosi Correctional Center, Individually and Officially; David E. Parsons, Correctional Officer, Potosi Correctional Center, Individually and Officially, Defendants–Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Thomas D. Smith, Assistant Attorney General, argued, Saint Louis, MO, for appellant.
Michael Dudley Day, argued, Southington, CT, for appellee.
Before WOLLMAN, BEAM, and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.
Captain Garry Branch, Lieutenant Daniel Blair, and Correctional Officers Timothy Williford, Andrew Fox, Shannon Clubbs, and David E. Parsons (collectively Correctional Officers) appeal the district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment based upon qualified immunity. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.
The facts in this case are heavily disputed. Because this is an appeal from the denial of the Correctional Officers' motion for summary judgment, the facts are taken in the light most favorable to plaintiff, Victor Santiago. Brown v. City of Golden Valley, 574 F.3d 491, 496 (8th Cir.2009). In 2008, Santiago was an inmate at the Potosi Correctional Center, in Mineral Point, Missouri. On July 26, 2008, Santiago was scheduled to work kitchen duty but did not report for work, prompting Lieutenant Blair to initiate a search for him. Santiago was discovered in the recreational area and sent to the kitchen to report for duty. When Santiago arrived at the kitchen, Blair told him that he was being sent to administrative segregation for his failure to report to work and ordered him to “strip out.” While he was stripping out, Santiago began arguing with Blair. Eventually, Blair approached Santiago with his handcuffs out and told Santiago that he was going to “kick his ass.” Santiago assumed a defensive position and told Blair that if he touched him, Santiago was going to “drop him.”
Blair ordered another correctional officer who was present to make a “10–5 call,” which indicates that an officer needs assistance. As staff began to respond to the call, Blair persuaded Santiago to submit to being handcuffed. While he was placing the handcuffs on Santiago, Blair said “let me lock the safety, we wouldn't want [the handcuffs] to accidentally tighten on you.” Blair then tightened the handcuffs to the “crushing point.”
Correctional Officer Williford, who had responded to the 10–5 call, began leading Santiago to the medical unit, which was standard procedure prior to placing an inmate in administrative segregation. Williford began digging his fingers into Santiago's left arm, prompting Santiago to yell at Williford to stop “manhandling” him. Williford replied, “What are you going to do about it tough guy?” Santiago responded,“I'm not going to let you blow me no more.” Williford immediately swung Santiago toward the wall, slamming the right side of his face and body into the wall. Correctional Officer Fox, who had also responded to the 10–5 call, sprayed Santiago with pepper spray. Santiago alleges that although he shifted his body to avoid directly hitting the wall, he did not attempt to escape Williford's grasp or resist in any fashion.
The correctional officers then threw Santiago to the floor and restrained his legs. Correctional Officer Parsons grabbed Santiago's legs, crossed them at the ankles and turned them upward in a torque position, holding them tightly until another correctional officer secured Santiago with leg restraints. Santiago again alleges that he was not resisting the correctional officers' actions. As Santiago was being lifted from the floor, Parsons took his left wrist and turned it upward with a sharp motion, dislocating it.
Parsons led Santiago to the medical unit, where he was seen by a nurse. The nurse asked Parsons whether Santiago's handcuffs could be loosened. Santiago alleges that he heard Captain Branch respond, “No, he's fine.” The nurse treated Santiago for a laceration on his left wrist. Santiago alleges that he complained to the nurse about his dislocated left wrist, but the nurse did nothing to address it. The medical records from Santiago's visit do not indicate any complaint regarding a dislocated wrist. The nurse told Parsons and Branch that Santiago would need to take a shower to wash the pepper spray from his hair and face. Branch responded, “Leave him, maybe he'll think twice before threatening one of us.” Santiago was forced to wait thirty-five minutes before being placed in a shower.
Following his treatment in the medical unit, Santiago was placed in administrative segregation in House 1. Several hours later, Santiago made a self-declared medical emergency call to have a nurse examine his wrist. The responding nurse was the same person who had treated Santiago earlier. Santiago told the nurse that he thought his wrist might be broken. The nurse looked at his wrist, responded, “it don't look broke to me,” and walked away from the cell. Thereafter, Santiago reset his wrist himself, using his sock and the handicap bar in his cell.
Santiago filed a grievance on November 5, 2008, alleging that the correctional officers had used excessive force during the incident in question. This grievance was denied, and Santiago's appeal from the denial was found to be without merit on February 19, 2009. During the grievance process, Santiago remained in administrative segregation. Santiago alleges that on February 22, 2009, Correctional Officer Clubbs spoke to him about his excessive force grievance, telling Santiago that he “would be smart to just drop it.” When Santiago responded that he would not drop the issue, Clubbs told him “if you know what is good for you, you will leave Lieutenant Blair out of it.” Clubbs continued, saying, “maybe a couple more years in the hole will knock that tough ass attitude out of you, I can make that happen or maybe we'll find you hanging in one of these cells.” Clubbs began laughing and then said, “think about it.”
Several days later, Clubbs noticed that Santiago had placed a sheet in the crack of his cell door. Clubbs attempted to pull the sheet through the door but was unable to do so because Santiago had tied a knot at the end of it. Santiago pulled the sheet back into his cell and refused to give it to Clubbs. During this exchange, the metal food flap on the cell door was knocked off and struck Clubbs's hand. Santiago was given a conduct violation for this incident and was moved to a different administrativesegregation cell without his personal property. This cell did not have a mattress, working sink, or working toilet. Santiago was given a single sheet and was left wearing only his boxer shorts. When Santiago protested the conditions and asked why he was being treated this way, he was told that it was “per Lieutenant Blair” and until he “learned how to act” he would not receive his property or better living conditions. Later that afternoon, Santiago received the paper work for his conduct violation. Approximately twenty minutes later, Clubbs stopped by his new cell and said, “I told you,” and “the next paper work is for your suicide.”
The following day, another correctional officer asked Santiago why he had been moved to the new cell. Santiago explained that he had been subjected to an excessive use of force, filed a grievance, and refused to drop the grievance after being threatened by Clubbs, all of which resulted in what Santiago believed was retaliation in the form of an unfounded conduct violation and his transfer to his current cell. When he finished telling the correctional officer this story, the officer stepped aside, shaking his head. Blair stepped into view, saying, “you just ain't going to learn.” He then told Santiago that “things are going to get worse.” The next day, however, Santiago was moved back to House 1 and placed in a close observation cell. One week later, Santiago appeared before a disciplinary action board for a hearing on the conduct violation issued by Clubbs. The violation was upheld and Santiago received additional time in administrative segregation.
Santiago filed the instant action against the Correctional Officers in their official and individual capacities under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging excessive force and deliberate indifference to his medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment and retaliation in violation of the First Amendment. The Correctional Officers moved for summary judgment, contending that they were entitled to sovereign immunity regarding the official capacity claims and qualified immunity regarding the individual capacity claims. The district court granted summary judgment to the Correctional Officers with respect to the official capacity claims, but denied summary judgment with respect to the individual capacity claims.
We review de novo a district court's denial of a motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Akins v. Epperly, 588 F.3d 1178, 1182 (8th Cir.2009). “We view the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, accepting as true the facts that the district court found were adequately supported, as well as the facts the district court likely assumed.” Brown, 574 F.3d at 496.
Determining the question of qualified immunity involves the following two-step inquiry: (1) whether the facts shown by the plaintiff make out a violation of a constitutional or statutory right; and (2) whether that right was clearly established at the time of the defendant's alleged...
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