Wise v. Maier
| Docket Number | 5:21-cv-2203 |
| Decision Date | 24 July 2023 |
| Parties | AMBER WISE, et al., PLAINTIFFS, v. GEORGE T. MAIER, STARK COUNTY SHERIFF, et al., DEFENDANTS. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
This civil rights action arises from the December 10, 2019 suicide of decedent, David M. Wise (“Wise”) while in pre-trial custody in the Stark County Jail (“SCJ”). Now before the Court are three motions for summary judgment. The first is the motion of defendants George T. Maier, Stark County Sheriff (the “Sheriff”); Bill Smith, Janet Creighton, and Richard Regula (the “Commissioners”); and Sgt James Stevic (“Stevic”), Sgt. Eric Changet (“Changet”), C.O. Joseph Stephey (“Stephey”), C.O. Nathan Thomas (“Thomas”), and C.O. Danny Thompson (“Thompson”) (the “Officers”) (collectively, “Stark County Defendants”). (Doc. No. 58.) The second is the motion of defendants Tammy Harmon-Rodriguez (“Harmon-Rodriguez”) and Deborah Vaughan (“Vaughan”) (collectively, “VitalCore Defendants”). (Doc. No. 57.) The third is brought by plaintiffs, Amber Wise and Attorney J. Max Haupt, and seeks partial summary judgment. (Doc. No. 56.) Each summary judgment motion is fully briefed and ripe for resolution. (See Doc. No. 61 (Plaintiffs' Response to Stark County Defendants' Motion); Doc. No. 67 (Stark County Defendants' Reply); Doc. No. 62 (Plaintiffs' Response to VitalCore Defendants' Motion); Doc. No. 66 (VitalCore Defendants' Reply); Doc. No. 60 (VitalCore Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion); Doc. No. 63 (Stark County Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion); Doc. No. 65 (Plaintiffs' Reply in Response to Stark County Defendants' Response).)
Many of the background facts are well-documented and beyond dispute. Where there is disagreement, the Court will note it and, in applying those facts to the various summary judgment motions, the Court will construe the facts “in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Westfield Ins. Co. v. Tech Dry, Inc., 336 F.3d 503, 506 (6th Cir 2003) (citation omitted).
SCJ is a 526-bed adult jail housing inmates booked by a variety of law enforcement agencies within Stark County, Ohio. (Doc. No. 44 (Expert Report of Jeffrey S. Carter) ¶ 37.) For purposes of summary judgment only, no party takes issue with the following: at all times relevant to this litigation, SCJ was under the auspice and control of the Sheriff and the Commissioners; the Officers were employed by Stark County and worked at SCJ; Stark County had a contractual arrangement with VitalCore to provide mental health services to its inmates at SCJ; and Harmon-Rodriguez and Vaughan were employed by VitalCore.
Chapter 5120 of the Ohio Administrative Code sets forth the minimum standards for adult jail housing facilities in the State of Ohio. (Id. ¶ 34.) Ohio Admin. Code § 5120:1-8-09(A) requires each jail to have a designated health authority “with responsibility for health and/or mental health care services” to be administered at the facility. Section 5120:1-8-09(C) requires health trained personnel to conduct a “written medical, dental and mental health receiving screening on each inmate upon arrival at the jail and prior to being placed in general population.” As part of this screening, an initial “[s]uicidal risk assessment” must be made. § 5120:1-8-9(C)(1)(j). Within fourteen days of arrival, a licensed nurse (or other appropriate medical provider) must complete a more in-depth health appraisal to “determine the medical and mental health condition for each inmate in custody.” § 5120:1-8-9(D). Such an appraisal must include a full “[m]ental health assessment.” § 5120:1-8-9(D)(6). Additionally, the health authority must have a suicide prevention plan designed to identify and respond to suicidal and potentially suicidal inmates and actions involving self-harm. § 5120:1-8-9(N).
SCJ has several policies and procedures that are relevant to the present action. First, SCJ Policy 80302.00 sets forth the steps intake corrections officers take when receiving a new arrestee, which includes an initial screening by SCJ staff. (Doc. No. 44-14 (SCJ Policies), at 16-28.[1]) Additionally, SCJ Policy 80307.00 requires contract medical personnel to conduct a preliminary Health/History Evaluation for all newly received inmates. (Id. at 48.) Finally, SCJ has a Suicide Prevention and Response Plan. (See id. at 76-91.) The Plan includes, in part, identification of potentially suicidal inmates (SCJ Policy 83752.00), referral and placement of inmates on suicide precautions (SCJ Policy 83753.00), housing of suicidal inmates (SCJ Policy 83754.00), monitoring of such inmates (SCJ Policy 83755.00), routine assessment of inmates for warning signs (SCJ Policy 83756.00), communication (SCJ Policy 83758.00), training (SCJ Policy 83759.00), and intervention in cases involving a suicide attempt (SCJ Policy 83757.00). There is no dispute that SCJ's Suicide Prevention and Response Plan complies with the requirements of the Ohio Administrative Code for such plans. (Doc. No. 39 (Expert Report of Robert J. Marcello), at 7; see Doc. No. 44 ¶ 71.)
The parties agree that Wise suffered from a variety of mental health problems. (Doc. No. 1 (Complaint) ¶ 15; see Doc. No. 54 (Deposition of Danny Thompson), at 8-9.) Wise also had a history of incarceration in SCJ and was generally familiar to many of the employees of SCJ. (Doc. No. 53 (Deposition of Eric Changet), at 24 (); Doc. No. 54, at 7-8 ().)
Wise's past incarcerations were often punctuated by unsuccessful efforts to take his own life. On June 27, 2011, while incarcerated at SCJ, Wise attempted suicide by hanging himself in his cell. (Doc. No. 56-2 (Incident Report).) He was discovered by a deputy sheriff and had to be cut down and treated by medics and the Canton Fire Department. (Id. at 6.) On June 14, 2018, during another period of incarceration at SCJ, Wise was discovered to have “wrapped [a] sheet around his neck in [an] attempt to harm himself.” (Doc. No. 56-5 (SCJ Progress Notes), at 2.) On June 15, 2018, while on precaution status[2] due to his suicide attempt the previous day, Wise climbed onto an 8-foot-high shelf and threatened to jump headfirst off the shelf to cause himself harm. (Doc. No. 56-6 (SCJ Incident Report), at 1.) He eventually removed himself safely from the shelf after a SCJ corrections officer administered a burst of Oleoresin Capsicum Spray. (Id.)
On December 19, 2018, Wise was ordered to be housed in the psychiatric section of SCJ, placed on 15-minute observations for self-harm, and was observed to have displayed self-injurious or suicidal behavior during incarceration. (Doc. No. 56-8 (SCJ Transfer to Heartland Behavioral).) The documentation accompanying this housing decision reflects that Wise “represent[ed] a substantial risk of physical harm to [him]self as manifested by evidence of threats of, or attempts at, suicide or serious self-inflicted bodily harm[.]” (Id. at 2.)
During a subsequent period of incarceration in June 2019, Wise was again placed on precautionary status. The SCJ Mental Health/Psychological Screening notes Wise “hung self in catwalk 6/27/11[,] wrapped sheet @ neck 7/18/11” and that Wise stated, “if I had a stake I would put it through everyone's eyes right now[.]” (Doc. No. 56-9, at 2.) During the next several days, documentation prepared by Harmon-Rodriguez reflects that Wise had been placed on precautions “for self-harm & odd behaviors[,]” based on comments that he “believe[ed] [he] deserve[d] death[,]” that he was seeing things, and that the trees were “stalking” him. (Doc. No. 56-11 (Psychiatric Precaution Flow Sheet and Screening), at 2.) The documentation also reflects that Wise had made other bizarre comments, including that he believed that he was being pursued by aliens and that he was the President of the United States. (Id. at 3.) Finally, on August 9, 2019, Harmon-Rodriquez signed an Application for Emergency Admission to Heartland Behavioral Health because Wise displayed “[s]elf-injurious or suicidal behavior during incarceration[,]” and was “currently on suicide watch/precautions[.]” (Doc. No. 62-14 (Transfer Form), at 4.)[3]
On December 7, 2019, the Alliance Police Department (“APD”) responded to a call at Aultman Alliance Community Hospital. (Doc. No. 58-1 (APD Incident Report), at 7.) Wise had received patient care at the hospital and was set to be discharged when he became violent and began destroying hospital property, before he was ultimately restrained by hospital security.[4]During the course of the struggle, Wise pushed a member of security and attempted to strike one of the hospital's nurses. (Id.) He was taken into custody by APD and charged with two counts of assault on a medical worker and vandalism. The hospital's discharge paperwork reflected that Wise had been “medically cleared for jail.”[5] (Doc. No. 58-2, at 2.) Wise was subsequently transported to SCJ.
At 6:35 p.m., on December 7, 2019, a SCJ corrections officer prepared a “pre-booking screening form” for Wise. (Doc. No. 58-3 (Pre-Booking Screening Form).) Next to the question “[d]oes the prisoners' behavior suggest the risk of suicide?” the officer circled “NO.” (Id. at 2.) The officer also indicated that Wise posed “a risk to staff or others of an assault[.]” (Id.) Approximately ten minutes later, at 6:45 p.m., an employee of VitalCore performed a “pre-booking healthcare screen” on Wise.[6] (Doc. No. 58-4 (Pre-Booking Healthcare Screen), at 2.) When Wise was asked if he had “any current thoughts of harming” himself...
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