Simpkins v. Boyd Cnty. Fiscal Court

• Citation: 48 F.4th 440
• Decision Date: 02 September 2022
• Docket Number: 21-5477
• Parties: Gary SIMPKINS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. BOYD COUNTY FISCAL COURT, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

48 F.4th 440

Gary SIMPKINS, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
BOYD COUNTY FISCAL COURT, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 21-5477

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

FILED September 2, 2022

Andrew Kenneth Wheeler, Martin & Vincent, Ashland, KY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Jeffrey C. Mando, Adams Law, Covington, KY, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before: BATCHELDER, ROGERS, and WHITE, Circuit Judges.

WHITE, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which ROGERS, J., joined. BATCHELDER, J. (pp. 458–63), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

OPINION

HELENE N. WHITE, Circuit Judge.

48 F.4th 443

Plaintiff-Appellant Gary Simpkins appeals the grant of summary judgment to Defendants-Appellees Boyd County Fiscal Court and Boyd County Officials (together "Boyd County") in this § 1983 excessive-force and municipal-liability case. Simpkins argues that the district court erred in three ways: (1) by holding that Boyd County Fiscal Court is not an entity that can be sued; (2) by excluding from evidence a 2019 Department of Justice Report as "irrelevant and inadmissible"; and (3) by granting summary judgment to Boyd County on the basis that Simpkins provided no evidence to support his theory of municipal liability. Because the district court erred in excluding the Report and in granting summary judgment without considering it, we VACATE and REMAND.

I.

A.

On September 12, 2018, just before midnight, Officer Ramey of the Catlettsburg Police Department stopped Simpkins for speeding in Catlettsburg, Kentucky. Simpkins told Ramey that he was speeding because he was experiencing chest pain and felt he needed to get to the emergency room quickly. During the stop, Ramey learned that Simpkins had an outstanding arrest warrant from another county for "harassing communications." R. 13-2, PID 64. Ramey arrested Simpkins and took him to the hospital, where an examining physician determined that Simpkins was not experiencing a medical emergency. The physician diagnosed Simpkins with "atypical chest pain" and discharged him in "stable condition." R. 18, PID 156.

Ramey then took Simpkins to the Boyd County Detention Center (BCDC), where he was booked and screened at approximately 4 a.m. on September 13, 2018. On the screening questionnaire, Simpkins indicated that he had "a serious medical condition that may require attention" (cancer ), that he was "currently taking a prescription medication that may need continuation," and that he had "a serious mental health condition that may need attention." Id. at 164. He also answered "yes" to the questions "[h]ave you ever had a closed head injury that resulted in a permanent disability," "[d]o you have learning or other disabilit[ies] that will impact your ability to understand instructions while you are here," "[a]re you aware of any reason you should be separated from another inmate while you are here," "[h]ave you ever attempted suicide," and "[a]re you currently thinking about suicide." Id. Simpkins testified that he asked for his medication from the person who "booked [him] in, and they said they'd work on trying to get it for [him]."¹ R. 15, PID 96.

Simpkins was then placed in a cell with two other inmates. Simpkins testified that

48 F.4th 444

he again asked for his medicine, saying "I need my medicine. I can't think straight. I'm getting dizzy. I need my medicine." Id. at 92. Simpkins beat on the door to get the guards’ attention and repeatedly pressed the call button inside the cell. A guard responded and told Simpkins to "sit down and shut up." Id. When Simpkins persisted in asking for his medicine, he was removed from the cell and taken into D-Block, where there were approximately five other inmates.

At some point, one of the other inmates in D-Block informed BCDC staff that Simpkins had threatened to kill himself. Officers removed Simpkins from the cell, took him back to booking, stripped off his clothes, and dressed him in a paper smock. Simpkins was then placed in a cell by himself and monitored by the staff. When he continued to request his medicine, Deputy Layne² placed him in a restraint chair, which the Kentucky Jail Policy Manual defines as "[a] chair specifically designed to restrain a prisoner's arms, legs, shoulders, and chest while in a seated position." R. 18, PID 189. Simpkins described being placed in the chair as follows:

[A red-headed skinny guy brought me] down the hallway he stopped and slammed my head up against the wall right beside of a door that had a man sitting in there on the computer. He slammed my head up against that wall and said, "You keep your head right there," and then he put gloves on, they was black leather and just started beating me (sound effects) in the side. I started screaming, "Why are you doing me this way," and then they took me in there, stripped me down, put me in a paper dress, and they put me in a chair, and then they strapped me right across the neck like that as tight as they could get it and right across the wrist and then they pushed me in this little room and then they turned it backwards and slammed it down [so I was on my back] and said "Now, bitch." And I got to where I couldn't breathe. I said, "Please help me. I can't breathe." And then that's when this Officer [Kouns] started saying, "Scream bitch, scream."

R. 15, PID 94–95. Simpkins testified that he passed out in the chair, and awoke to "a little short chubby guy, black headed, [who] says – he bends over and picks me up and [said] ... "I'm so thankful somebody come and got you because [the officer who strapped you in the chair] had intention of killing you today." Id. at 103. Simpkins's uncle then bonded him out of jail.

The only other record concerning the alleged beating and the restraint chair is an Incident Report, prepared by Deputy Layne, which described the events of September 13th as follows:

On 9-13-2018 at approximately 1:00 pm, Deputy Kouns informed me that Inmate Simpkins was continually pressing the button harassing Deputy Kouns. I had already informed him twice that he was not to press the button except in case of emergency but he continued. I escorted him to D Block for 3 days for disrespect of staff and he was placed in Cell D-4.

Immediately after exiting D Block, Deputy Kouns notified me that Inmates that were on Rec in D Block stated that Inmate Simpkins had threatened suicide.

48 F.4th 445

Deputy Payne immediately responded and escorted Inmate Simpkins to Booking. I met them halfway and escorted Inmate Simkpins to be stripped and placed in a smock. Inmate Simpkins stated to me that he was suicidal due to being incarcerated and also stated that inmates in Cell D-4 told him to claim to be suicidal to get out of the cell.

Inmate Simpkins was placed in Cell 157B on high watch for 24 hours.

R. 18-4, PID 206. There are no BCDC records describing the chair incident, and no depositions from BCDC staff. In Simpkins's response to BCDC's summary judgment motion, Simpkins provided a document entitled "Jail Policies," issued on Kentucky Association of Counties letterhead, which describes its "purpose" as "[t]o establish specific guideline[s] for the use of restraining devices by staff." R. 18-7, PID 234. These policies were presumably in force during Simpkins's incident at BCDC.³ The policies note the following:

• Restraints are never used "[a]s punishment," "in a way which causes undue physical pain or bodily injury," or "[i]n a manner as to restrict blood circulation or breathing," though they may be applied to "[p]revent self-injurious behavior or injury to others," to "[p]revent or quell a disturbance or riot," or to "[p]rovide appropriate security";

• Restraints are to be "applied as humanely as possible" and should "be reduced to the least restrictive level required as soon as the prisoner is cooperative." Additionally, "[s]taff will attempt to assist the prisoner in gaining control by less restrictive interventions prior to considering application of restraints";

• "Jail staff in accordance with institutional procedures will complete a report, which details the use of clinically ordered physical restraints," and all uses of restraint shall be documented to include: the type of restraint used, the type of clothing the prisoner wore, where the prisoner was placed, whether medications were administered, clinical justification for the use of restraints, a list of interventions attempted by staff, the type of restraints ordered, and prisoner behavior during the application of restraints; and

• The restraint chair "will not be used for punishment, harassment, or to intentionally inflict pain on any offender" and may only be used for "[c]ontrol of a disruptive offender," "[p]revention of bodily harm to other persons," "[p]revention of property damage," "[m]edical procedure, as allowed by policy or court order," "[t]ransportation of a disruptive prisoner," or "[p]revention of self-injury." Prison staff must document efforts "for less restrictive treatment alternatives" "as soon as possible" and may not use the emergency restraint chair for "longer than 2 hours at any one time."

Id. at 234–38.

Simpkins was released from BCDC at approximately 11:05 p.m. on September 13, 2018, having been detained for a little over

48 F.4th 446

19 hours, and was charged with one count of "harassing communications," one count of "speeding, 5 MPH over limit," and one count of "failure to produce insurance card." R. 18, PID 169.

B.

Simpkins filed this § 1983 and state-law negligence action in the Boyd Circuit Court against: the Boyd County Fiscal Court (Fiscal Court); Boyd County employees Jimmy Joe Burchett and Unknown Defendants (individually and in their official capacities); and Boyd County employees Carol Tolliver, John Greer, Thomas Jackson, Stephen Towler, and Bill Hensley (in their official capacities). The Fiscal Court is the entity responsible for ensuring that BCDC complies with statutory safety standards. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 441.025.

Simpkins alleged violations of his Eighth, Tenth, and...