Wilkins v. Ramirez, 04CV00118-J (WMC).
| Citation | 455 F.Supp.2d 1080 |
| Decision Date | 02 October 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 04CV00118-J (WMC).,04CV00118-J (WMC). |
| Parties | Rhett WILKINS Plaintiff, v. RAMIREZ, et al. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of California |
G. Michael German, Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, San Diego, SD.
ORDER: (1) ADOPTING IN PART MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S R & R [Doc. No. 31]; (2) GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [Doc. No. 20]; (3) DENYING AS MOOT DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO STRIKE [Doc. No. 20]; (4) DENYING DEFENDANTS' REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE [Doc. No. 30]; and (5) CONSTRUING PLAINTIFF'S "MOTION TO DISMISS SUMMARY JUDGMENT" AS PLAINTIFF'S OPPOSITION TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT [Doc. No. 30]
On January 16, 2004, Plaintiff Rhett Wilkins ("Plaintiff'), a state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a Complaint with this Court alleging that prison officials violated his civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. [Doc. No. 1.] Before the Court are Defendants Ramirez et. al.'s ("Defendants") Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion to Strike. [Doc. No. 20.] Plaintiff has filed an Opposition,1 and Defendants have filed a Reply. [Doc. Nos. 30, 28.] Magistrate Judge William McCurine Jr. has filed a Report and Recommendation ("R & R") advising the Court to grant Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, to grant Defendants' Motion to Strike Plaintiffs punitive damages claim, and to deny Defendants' Request, for Judicial Notice. [Doc. No. 31.] Neither party has filed an Opposition to the R & R. The Court reviewed the papers filed, determined that the issues presented were appropriate for decision without oral argument, and vacated the hearing date. See S.D. Cal. Civ. R. 7 (2006). For the reasons set forth below, the Court (1) ADOPTS IN PART the R & R, (2) GRANTS Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, (3) DENIES without prejudice Defendants' Motion to Strike, and (4) DENIES Defendants' Request for Judicial Notice.
Plaintiff is a state prisoner incarcerated at Richard J. Donavan Correctional Facility ("RJD") in San Diego, California. (See German Decl. Ex. A at 3-4; see also Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. at 1.) The alleged civil rights violations occurred on September 17, 2003, when the Correctional Treatment Center ("CTC") at RJD was evacuated for a fire drill. (See Pl.'s Compl. at 7.) Plaintiff states he was in the Central Plaza sitting on a cart watching the fire drill like he was instructed to do by Registered Nurse ("RN") Denason. (See id.) Defendant Correctional Officer ("C/O") Lyman-Clark called Plaintiff over to him and told Plaintiff to stop looking at the women participating in the fire drill. (See id.) C/O Lyman-Clark reprimanded Plaintiff and told Plaintiff to go back to where he was sitting. (See id.) Shortly afterwards, C/O Lyman-Clark again called Plaintiff over and reprimanded him for allegedly leering at the women. (See id.) Plaintiff asserts that he responded that he was not looking at the women, and told C/O Lyman-Clark, he had "been working with them for 10 months, they don't mean anything to me, I have a wife [and] kids." (Pl.'s Compl. at 7.)
According to Plaintiff, this response angered C/O Lyman-Clark, who then told Plaintiff to put his hands behind his back. (See Pl.'s Compl. at 7.) Plaintiff complied, and C/O Lyman-Clark escorted Plaintiff about five feet, at which point Defendant C/O Bernal came over and began escorting Plaintiff. (See id.)
Plaintiff asserts that C/O Bernal suddenly threw Plaintiff on the ground and started beating him for no apparent reason. (See Pl.'s Compl. at 7.) Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants C/Os Diaz, Tablos-Espinoza, Lt. Shelar, Sgt. Beauchemin, and MTA Wilson, all jumped on Plaintiff, beat him, and sprayed Oleresin Capsicum ("O.C.") spray his face. (See id.) Afterwards, Plaintiff claims that C/O Ramirez took him to the CTC, handcuffed his hands and legs, and beat him. (See id.) Plaintiff states that he requested medical attention for his head injury several times when he was in administrative segregation, and a doctor did not evaluate him or take x-rays during the three months he was in segregation. (See Pl.'s Compl. at 8.)
Plaintiff also points out that he was ultimately found "not guilty" for resisting staff and battery. The Rules Violation Report, which Plaintiff has provided as an exhibit, concludes that Plaintiff is not guilty because "this incident was a result of Inmate WILKINS' mental health condition, in that he was not taking his prescribed medications." (Pl.'s Opp'n Ex. L.)
Finally, Plaintiff asserts that he made various 602-Inmate Appeal Requests, which were not answered, and that staff refused to give him copies of the 837-Crime/Incident Reports. (See id.)
Defendants' version of events differs from Plaintiffs. According to Defendants, C/O Lyman-Clark repeatedly asked Plaintiff to stop leering and making lewd gestures, i.e., holding his crotch, at the female staff conducting the fire drill. (See Cob Decl. Ex. G at 20.) Plaintiffs alleged response was, "I'll do what the fuck 1 want to." (Cobb Decl. Ex. G at 21.) C/O Lyman-Clark ordered Plaintiff to show his identification card, which Plaintiff refused to do. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. G at 21.) When C/O Bernal observed the interaction between C/O Lyman-Clark and Plaintiff, C/O Bernal told Plaintiff to place his hands behind his back. (See id.) C/O Bernal then began to escort Plaintiff to the Watch Office. (See id.)
According to Defendants, when C/O Bernal and Plaintiff approached the walkway in front of the Watch Officer, Plaintiff began to resist and pulled free of C/O Bernal's grip. Plaintiff then allegedly turned to strike C/O Bernal with his elbow.2 (See id.) C/O Bernal grabbed Plaintiff with both arms around his upper torso, and both men fell to the ground. (See id.)
At this point, Lt. Shelar and C/O Lyman-Clark responded to assist C/O Bernal. (See Cobb Decl. Ex A at 6.) C/O Lyman-Clark tried to restrain Plaintiff by holding his right arm, but Plaintiff grabbed C/O Lyman-Clark's right hand and squeezed and twisted his middle and ring fingers. (See Cobb Decl. at 21.) Although C/O Lyman-Clark ordered Plaintiff to stop resisting, Plaintiff continued to struggle. (See id.)
Sgt. Beauchemin and C/O Wilson responded to the incident by placing leg restraints on Plaintiff. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. B at 12; Cobb Decl. Ex. C at 13-14.) At the same time, C/O Diaz and C/O Tablas-Espinoza also approached to assist officers in placing handcuffs on Plaintiff. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. E at 18.)
While C/O Bernal was laying on Plaintiff to hold him still, Plaintiff allegedly bit C/O Bernal's left arm. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. B at 12; Cobb Decl. Ex. C at 13-14.) C/O Bernal yelled out, "he's biting me!" and C/O Diaz administered a one second burst of O.C. spray in Plaintiffs face. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. E at 18.) At C/O Lynman-Clark's request, C/O Diaz did not spray Plaintiff again. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. G at 24.) Plaintiff stopped biting C/O Bernal, but continued to resist until C/Os Shelar, Beauchemin, and Lyman-Clark handcuffed Plaintiff. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. A at 6.)
C/O Hobbs then escorted Plaintiff to the CTC for medical treatment and O.C. spray decontamination. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. H at 25.) At CTC, RN Belger evaluated Plaintiff, finding that he suffered an "abrasion on [the right] cheek, rib pain, [and a] small cut inside [his] lower lip." (Cobb Decl. Ex. I at 26.) C/O Skelton photographed Plaintiffs injuries. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. F at 19.) After Plaintiff was evaluated, C/O Hobbs escorted Plaintiff to the administrative segregation housing unit. (See Cobb Decl. Ex. H at 25.) Plaintiff received several subsequent checkups where he complained about having headaches and was proscribed medication for his injuries. (See generally German Decl. Ex. B.)
On January 16, 2004, Plaintiff filed a Complaint in this Court pursuant to the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendants C/O Bernal, C/O Diaz, C/O Lyman-Clark, C/O Ramirez, C/O Tablos-Espinoza, Lt. Shelar, Sgt. Beauchemin, MTA Wilson, and Warden Hernandez. [Doc. No. 1.] Plaintiff in his Complaint alleges the following: (1) Defendants violated Plaintiffs Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by kicking and beating him, (2) Defendants violated Plaintiffs due process rights by not answering his inmate appeal requests, and (3) Defendants violated Plaintiffs due process rights by not addressing his serious medical needs. (See Pl.'s Compl. at 2-5.)
On March 23, 2004, this Court granted Plaintiffs request to proceed in forma paurperis. [Doc. No. 5.] On October 29, 2004, Defendants filed their answer. [Doc. No. 12.] On January 21, 2005, Plaintiff requested appointment of counsel. [Doc No. 15.] Magistrate Judge McCurine denied Plaintiff's request for appointment of counsel without prejudice on January 21, 2005, finding no exceptional circumstances warranting appointment of counsel.
On March 18, 2004, Defendants filed a complaint against Plaintiff in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego South County Division, claiming three counts of battery stemming from the September 17, 2003, incident. (Pl.'s Opp'n Ex. H at 3.) The Superior Court dismissed the Complaint, apparently for "insufficiency of evidence." (Id.)
On August 31, 2005, Defendants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, a Motion to Strike Plaintiff's request for punitive damages, and a Request for Judicial Notice. [Doc. No. 19, 22.] In support of their Motion for Summary Judgment, Defendants filed declarations by Deputy Attorney General Michael German and Lt. Robert Cobb along with multiple exhibits, including Incident Reports completed by Defendants and RJD Staff. (See Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. at 2.)
On September 29, 2005, Plaintiff requested an extension of time to respond to Defe...
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