Thomas v. Cumberland Cnty.
| Decision Date | 11 April 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 12–3959.,12–3959. |
| Citation | 749 F.3d 217 |
| Parties | Lawrence THOMAS, Appellant v. CUMBERLAND COUNTY; Glenn Sanders, both individually and in his official capacity as the Warden of the Cumberland County Correctional Facility; Corrections Officer Martinez, both individually and in his official capacity as a Correctional Officer; John Does 1–10, sued in their individual and official capacities; Lieutenant Michael Palau, both Individually and in his official capacity as a Policy Maker of Cumberland County Jail; Captain Kenneth Lancken, both individually and in his official capacity as Policy Maker of Cumberland County Jail; Correctional Officer James H. Wilde, III both individually and in his official Capacity as Correctional Officer. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Lauren Plevinsky, Esq., William A. Riback, Esq., argued, Haddonfield, NJ.
Steven L. Rothman, Esq., Lipman, Antonelli, Batt, Dunlap, Wodlinger & Gilson, argued, Vineland, NJ.
Before: FISHER, JORDAN and SLOVITER, Circuit Judges.
Lawrence Thomas brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:6–2, after he sustained an attack at the hands of other inmates at the Cumberland County Correctional Facility (the “CCCF”). The attack occurred after a several-minute long verbal argument between Thomas and a group of inmates in the presence of corrections officers. Thomas brought suit against Cumberland County and policymakers at the prison (together, the “County”) for, among other things, their failure to properly train corrections officers in conflict de-escalation and intervention techniques. The District Court granted summary judgment in the County's favor on Thomas's failure-to-train claim. For the reasons that follow, we will vacate the District Court's order.
Lawrence Thomas entered Cumberland County's custody on June 4, 2008.1 He was confined in the CCCF pending trial for shoplifting and failing to pay fines that he had incurred. He was assigned to the “D–Pod,” a group of holding cells in the CCCF. The D–Pod is relatively small, housing only around 100 detainees. It has two levels, and the upper level is open to the lower level with stairs that connect the two. It houses minimum and medium security detainees. Thomas was a minimum security detainee.
The CCCF is considered a tough prison, due in large part to gang activity. At least four or five fights are seen and reported every day, and up to twenty or thirty are estimated to be unseen and unreported. The County knew of these conditions by way of incident reports filed for the fights that are seen and reported.
During his detention, Thomas developed a reputation as a bully. He was known for stealing others' food. This suit concerns Thomas's conflict with a group of inmates in the D–Pod, which occurred on July 27, 2008. Two corrections officers were on duty in the D–Pod that day—Corrections Officer Fernando Martinez (“Officer Martinez”) and Corrections Officer James Wilde (“Officer Wilde”). Thomas claims he was “bartering” for food,2 and after acquiring rice and soup, he left his cell to microwave the food. When he exited, he found that a crowd of about twelve inmates had gathered outside of his cell. Officer Martinez was also among the crowd. The inmates were angry with Thomas, believing that he had stolen food.
The argument, which began outside of Thomas's cell on the upper level of the D–Pod, grew into a heated verbal dispute that lasted for several minutes. Throughout the argument, Officer Martinez was with the crowd while Officer Wilde was at his desk on the lower level of the D–Pod. At some point, Officer Martinez said something along the lines of, “If you guys don't fight or break it up, I'm going to lock everybody down.” (PA 91, 154). In response to this statement, the crowd of inmates laughed. The statement did not cause the crowd to disperse.
While Thomas, Officer Martinez, and the crowd were on the upper level, another inmate, Leonardo Santiago, yelled from the lower level, “If you want to take stuff from people, come down here and take stuff from me.” (PA 120, 150). At this time, Thomas began to make his way downstairs to the lower level, allegedly to seek the protection of Officer Wilde.3 As he headed down, other inmates started yelling explicit threats of violence at Thomas, both from the lower level and from the crowd behind him on the stairs and on the upper level.
Thomas stated that when he reached the lower level, the crowd was blocking his path to Officer Wilde's desk. He moved towards Santiago's cell. Within fifteen or twenty seconds after Thomas reached the lower level, Santiago struck Thomas. Santiago stated that he struck Thomas partially in self-defense, because Thomas was approaching him in a threatening manner. Officer Martinez attempted to restrain Santiago, but at this time, another inmate, Michael Cruz, struck Thomas twice. When Thomas was injured, Officer Martinez was immediately next to him. Officer Martinez yelled for everyone to lock down, and the inmates reluctantly complied. The total time that elapsed between the beginning of the argument on the upper level and the violence that erupted on the lower level was three or four minutes.
Neither Officer Martinez nor Officer Wilde took any action to quell the unrest as the argument progressed. One inmate testified that he could tell that a fight was imminent and wanted to see a fight happen. Other inmates stated that the officers could and should have stopped the argument before the violence occurred. Officer Martinez acknowledged that he saw the entire incident. Thomas suffered a serious eye injury and a concussion. He was left with no sight in one eye.
In New Jersey, new corrections officers must complete pre-service training and Academy training. The CCCF provides a three-week pre-service training program with materials from the state. New corrections officers are required to complete this program prior to assuming their duties. A corrections officer must then complete state-provided Academy training within the first twelve to eighteen months of employment. The CCCF does not, as a part of its pre-service training, include training on de-escalating or intervening in conflicts before violence occurs. The officers do not receive specific training on calling for back-up; instead, they must use their discretion based on the training that they do receive. Both Officer Martinez and Officer Wilde had completed pre-service training, but because they had been working at the CCCF for less than one year, they had not yet completed Academy training.
Thomas obtained an expert report from Dr. Richard Kiekbusch regarding the need for de-escalation and intervention training and the failure to intervene in this situation. Dr. Kiekbusch, a professor of criminology, has over twenty years of experience in correctional administration. Dr. Kiekbusch reviewed materials in the summary judgment record and also relied on materials on national standards for prison training, with which he was familiar. He observed that the CCCF does not have any training on defusing a volatile situation with an inmate, de-escalating inmate tension, intervening in situations of inmate unrest, or calling for back-up when control requires additional personnel. He explained that prison training programs across the country proactively address the use of intervention and de-escalation skills and calling for back-up to defuse inmate tension and unrest.
Dr. Kiekbusch observed that the CCCF administration “failed to provide pre-service training to its correctional officers regarding the de-escalation of inmate tension and unrest and calling for back-up in situations in which maintaining control of the inmates under their supervision has exceeded, or is likely to exceed, the capabilities of those officers.” (PA 56). He concluded that Officer Martinez failed to intervene in the rising inmate tension or call for back-up to help quell the argument and that Officer Martinez's failure to intervene contributed to the injuries that Thomas sustained. Based upon his education, training, and experience in jail management, Dr. Kiekbusch found that the CCCF's failure to provide training on de-escalation, intervention, and when to call for back-up “to be a careless and dangerous practice, and one which reflects a deliberate indifference to inmate health and safety.” (PA 61).
Thomas filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. He later filed a second amended complaint that included claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:6–2. The complaint named Cumberland County and policymakers at the prison along with Officers Martinez and Wilde as defendants.
On April 5, 2011, all defendants filed a motion for summary judgment and a motion to exclude the expert testimony of Dr. Kiekbusch. The District Court granted summary judgment on all claims against the County and Officer Wilde. It denied summary judgment with respect to Thomas's claims against Officer Martinez for failure to protect, failure to intervene, and incitement. It also denied the motion to exclude Dr. Kiekbusch's expert testimony.
Thomas's claims against Officer Martinez proceeded to trial. The jury found in favor of Officer Martinez, concluding that he was aware of the danger that Thomas faced, but was not willfully indifferent. The District Court entered final judgment and Thomas filed a timely notice of appeal. Thomas appeals only the District Court's grant of summary judgment in the County's favor on the section 1983 failure-to-train claim.
The District Court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
“We review the District Court's disposition of a summary judgment motion de novo, applying the same standard as the District Court.” Doe v....
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