Shields v. Prince George's Cnty.

• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland
• Writing for the Court: GEORGE J. HAZEL United States District Judge
• Decision Date: 02 August 2019
• Docket Number: Case No.: GJH-15-1736
• Citation: Shields v. Prince George's Cnty., Case No.: GJH-15-1736 (D. Md. Aug 02, 2019)
• Parties: REGINA SHIELDS Individually and as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Samuel Shields Plaintiff, v. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND, et al., Defendants.

REGINA SHIELDS Individually and as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Samuel Shields Plaintiff, v. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND, et al., Defendants.

Case No.: GJH-15-1736

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND Southern Division

August 2, 2019

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Samuel Shields died while detained at the Prince George's County Correctional Facility on June 17, 2014 after being arrested for failing to pay a bus fare. Mr. Shields's spouse, Plaintiff Regina Shields, filed this action, individually and on behalf of Mr. Shields's estate, against Prince George's County, Maryland (PG County) and Correctional Officers Chandler Hines, Andrew Jackson, Erik Wood, Keith Funderburk, Emmanuel Odion, and Armando Rodriguez (collectively, the "Correctional Defendants"); and against Corizon Health Inc. and Nurses Zewdiensh Admassu and Gbemisola Adebayo (collectively, the "Corizon Defendants"). Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint alleges a variety of state and federal claims, including violations of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution; violations of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and § 704 of the Rehabilitation Act; negligence; wrongful death pursuant to Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-901, et. seq.; assault and battery; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

After the parties completed Phase I of a bifurcated discovery process, the Defendants moved for summary judgment. ECF Nos. 131 & 139.¹ Specifically, the Corizon Defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment as to Plaintiff's deliberate indifference claims, ECF No. 131, and the Correctional Defendants moved for summary judgment on all claims brought against them, ECF No. 134. No hearing is necessary. See Loc. R. 105.6 (D. Md. 2016).

Plaintiff now concedes that Counts XII, XIII, and XIV fail as a matter of law, and that governmental immunity precludes negligence claims asserted against Defendant PG County. ECF No. 150-1 at 11-12 ¶¶ 1-3. Based on these concessions, the Court will grant the Correctional Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment as to these Counts and issues. Otherwise, for the following reasons, the Correctional Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted in part and denied in part; and the Corizon Defendants' partial Motion for Summary Judgment will be denied.

I. BACKGROUND²

A. Lead up to Mr. Shields's Arrest

Mr. Shields was forty-nine and suffered from several medical conditions, including hypertension, congestive heart failure, atypical chest pain, chronic renal insufficiency, diabetes, asthma, psychosis, and schizophrenia. ECF No. 131-3 at 2.³ He weighed 347 pounds and was six feet tall. ECF No. 134-23.

As a symptom of his schizophrenia, Mr. Shields would sometimes suffer from what his wife, Plaintiff Regina Shields, described as manic episodes. ECF No. 131-4 at 45:1-3, 61:6-21. Around June 13, 2014, Plaintiff noticed that Mr. Shields had begun to exhibit symptoms of another "episode." Id. at 59:21, 60:1, 61:4-5. He began calling her "the devil" and acting strangely. Id. at 60:2-25, 63:14-21, 64:1-6. They were staying with Plaintiff's daughter at the time, and when her daughter noticed Mr. Shields's strange behavior, she asked that Mr. Shields go to his sister's house for a while to give her a break. Id. at 66:13-16. Plaintiff and Mr. Shields ended up sleeping in the hallway of the apartment building. Id. at 71:14-21. The next morning, Plaintiff and Mr. Shields started to walk together to McDonald's for breakfast. Id. at 73:8-17. Plaintiff thought that Mr. Shields was following her because he would often walk behind her, but when she arrived, she realized Mr. Shields had not followed her. Id. For the next several hours, Plaintiff tried to locate her husband. Id. at 74:3-17. She continued to look for him for the next few days. Id. 74:20-21.

B. Detention Center Processing and Isolation

On June 17, 2014, Mr. Shields was arrested for failing to pay a bus fare. ECF No. 134-13 at 2. He was pepper sprayed and eventually transported to the Prince George's County Detention Center. Id.; ECF. 131-4 at 12-21, 80:1.

He arrived at the detention center around 12:38pm. ECF No. 147-5 at 2. Correctional officers inventoried his personal effects, including multiple prescription drugs. Id.; ECF No. 148-10 at 3; ECF No. 148-7 at 19:2-5. The medications that were in Mr. Shields's possession included carvedilol, torsemide, hydralazine, isosorbide, spironolactone, lisinopril, and an inhaler. ECF No. 148-7 at 20:4-6. These medications are for high blood pressure, heart failure, chest pain, and respiratory problems, respectively. Id. at 20:9-21:2. The correctional officer who checked in Mr. Shields's personal effects noted that "he had a lot of medication." ECF No. 148-10 at 3. This raised a concern for her that Mr. Shields might have preexisting medical conditions. Id. Based on this concern, she asked Mr. Shields, who was loudly singing in the processing area, whether he had any injuries from his arrest and for his medical history. Id. at 2. He "kept singing," rather than answering her questions. Id. Other correctional officers at intake also observed Mr. Shields singing to himself and speaking indiscernibly. ECF No. 134-14 at 2; ECF No. 134-15 at 2.

Plaintiff's expert in emergency medical care, Andrew Lawson, M.D., reviewed video of Mr. Shields during this period and noted that Mr. Shields was "talking to himself loudly, and it was hard to understand what he was saying" because it "sounded like gibberish." ECF No. 48-4 at 11:23-12:1. According to Dr. Lawson, Mr. Shields was possibly experiencing "auditory hallucinations"; appeared "withdrawn"; was not making eye contact; and was "distracted by the singing and thoughts, or at least the things he [was] saying to himself." Id. at 12:2-6. He appeared, "just by the way he [was] holding himself and the lack of his ability to follow basic commands" to be "mentally ill." Id. at 14:20-15:4.

When someone comes into the detention center and is demonstrating symptoms of a mental health issue, correctional offices "do a psych form," contact the mental health providers with the medical unit, and "expedite" the detainee to a "safer environment." ECF No. 145-2 at 37:21-38:3. Sometimes if a detainee is "agitated and combative and unable to stay" in the processing area, he will be brought to the medical unit. ECF No. 145-3 at 137:7-12. The nurses "call the doctor or the psychiatrist" for an order, which allows medical to keep the detainee. ECF No. 145-3 at 137:7-15. Drawing all reasonable inferences in Mr. Shields's favor, no one filled out a mental health form in reference to Mr. Shields. ECF No. 134-10 at 18:4-7.

Shortly after he arrived, correctional officers decided to place Mr. Shields in full restraints because he continued being loud and singing. ECF No. 134-15 at 2; ECF No. 148-10 at 2; ECF No. 147-4 at 49:1-12. Mr. Shields was moved to an isolation cell without incident, ECF No. 134-15 at 2, and he was left in the restraints in isolation for approximately eight hours. ECF No. 147-4 at 46:9-12, 49:1-12. Drawing all reasonable inferences in Plaintiff's favor, during this time, Mr. Shields did not have access to his medications. ECF No. 148-4 at 64:18.

At the time, Alesia Burr was employed as the shift commander responsible for the detention center's processing and reception area. ECF No. 134-10 at 10:13-22, 11:1-13. Around 8:45pm, Burr and another officer removed Mr. Shields's restraints and let him out of the isolation cell, returning him to the processing area. ECF No. 147-5 at 2. For the next hour or so, Mr. Shields moved around various chairs in the processing area, getting up and sitting back down often. Id. Burr noticed that Mr. Shields came in with a lot of medication and called the center's medical desk. ECF No. 134-10 at 18:22-19:3. She "read off the medicines" and someone told her "to get him to the medical unit." Id. at 19:2-3. Mr. Shields was not combative towards Burr and she observed him to be "a compliant person." ECF No. 145-2 at 43:20, 44:6-7. However, he was not complying with her order to get up from the processing area and get dressed in a detention center uniform. Id. 45:12-13. Burr cannot recall whether Mr. Shields said anything in response to her order. Id. at 45:14-15. And he did not make any movements towards her. Id. at 45:16-18. He appeared agitated and was speaking loudly. ECF No. 147-5 at 2.

C. Emergency Response Team Incident

At 9:56pm, Burr called the Emergency Response Team (ERT) to help Mr. Shields get dressed in a detention center uniform so that he could be taken to the medical unit. ECF No. 145-2 at 44:16-17, 48:5-8. The ERT team sometimes helps inmates with mental health challenges get changed. Id. 48:9-14. As Burr explained, "[e]veryone has to get dressed one way," so sometimes the ERT team observes while "the detainees do it on their own," and other times they "help them and assist them getting their clothes changed." Id. at 45:5-14. Typically, inmates must change into a detention center uniform before they can leave the processing area to go to the medical unit. ECF No. 134-10 at 55:10-14, 57:4-6, 58:15-19. But exceptions are made when appropriate. ECF No. 145-3 at 137:7-15, 138:1-3.⁴

The ERT unit that responded to Burr's signal of a "minor disturbance" consisted of Emanuel Odion, Erik Wood, Andrew Jackson, Keith Funderburk, Chandler Hines, and Armando Rodriguez. ECF No. 134-4 at 26:9-13, 60:13-16; ECF No. 134-5 at 31:22-32:1-5,46:6-13, 50:14-16; ECF No. 134-6 at 37:13-15; ECF No. 134-7 at 13:1-17, 14:9-11, 38:7-14; ECF No. 134-8 at 25:17-20; ECF No. 134-9 at 17:3-7, 17:19-22, 18:2.

Odion was the unit's supervisor and responsible for the team. ECF No. 134-4 at 60:7-10; ECF No. 134-8 at 76:10-19, 80:7-14. Rodriguez outranked Funderburk, Wood, and Jackson. ECF No. 146-2 at 206:13-14. Hines was also a superior officer to Funderburk, Wood, and Jackson. Id. at 206:15-17; ECF No. 147-2 at 130:4-131:15.

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