Boston v. Suffolk Cnty.
Boston v. Suffolk Cnty.
Opinion of the Court
The Plaintiff Robert Boston (the "Plaintiff") brought this civil rights action against the Defendants Suffolk County, New York (the "County" or "Suffolk"), Suffolk County Police Department (the "SCPD") (with the County, the "Suffolk Defendants"), Town Of Smithtown, New York (the "Town" or "Smithtown"), Town Of Smithtown Park Police ("TSPP") (with Smithtown, the "Smithtown Defendants"), Suffolk County Police Officers John Doe # 1 To John Doe # 5, Town Of Smithtown Department Of Public Safety Personnel *7and/or Park Rangers John Doe # 1 To John Doe # 5 (together with the SCPD John Does 1 through 5, the "John Doe defendants") (collectively, the "Defendants") alleging that they deprived him of his constitutional rights by failing to provide him with medical care while in their custody.
Presently before the Court are motions by the Suffolk Defendants and the Smithtown Defendants for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (" FED. R. CIV. P. " or "Rule") 56, as well as a motion by the Plaintiff to amend his complaint pursuant to Rule 15 to substitute certain police officers and rangers for the John Doe defendants.
For the following reasons, the Plaintiff's motion to amend pursuant to Rule 15 is denied, and the Defendants' motions for summary judgment are granted in part, and denied in part.
I. BACKGROUND
A. The Relevant Facts
On the afternoon of July 4, 2013, the Plaintiff left his home after having a dispute with his wife. He brought nine tablets of Valium and 35 tablets of Wellbutrin with him. The Plaintiff testified that he does not remember where he went, but that he drove past his wife at some point, and ended up in Bill Richards Memorial Park in Smithtown, New York. (Dep. of Robert Boston at 47-48). While at the park, he smoked some marijuana, and swallowed nine Valium pills and an unknown quantity of Wellbutrin. He wanted to kill himself. The next thing that the Plaintiff remembers is being asked to sign a desk appearance ticket at a police station on July 5, 2013.
At about 10:19 in the morning on July 5, 2013, Town of Smithtown Park Rangers Russell Sokol ("Ranger Sokol" or "Sokol") and Joseph Paterson ("Ranger Paterson" or "Paterson") received a radio report of an individual who was on the premises without authorization. Paterson testified that there was a radio call for a suspicion person around a vehicle, who was possibly intoxicated. (Dep. of Sokol at 35).
Paterson and Sokol encountered the Plaintiff at about 10:50 a.m. The Plaintiff "appeared to be ... sleeping." (Id. at 37). The rangers awakened the Plaintiff and asked him for identification. The Plaintiff refused. He told the officers that he did not want to come out of the car because he believed they were going to arrest him. (Id. at 39). Ranger Paterson testified that the Plaintiff said that he wanted to be left alone so that he could sleep. (Dep. of Paterson at 36).
The rangers eventually convinced the Plaintiff to exit his car, and he did so without any aid from the rangers. (Dep. of Sokol at 40-41). He said that he did not know why the rangers were bothering him; he was just sleeping and did not see any problem. (Dep. of Paterson at 37). The Plaintiff cursed at the rangers and used other abusive and offensive language. (Dep. of Sokol at 45-46). The Plaintiff identified himself and the rangers took down his information. (Id. at 47).
The Plaintiff was a little unsteady on his feet, but was coherent and able to answer the officers' questions. He told the rangers that he had taken two tabs of acid and nine Diazepam pills, and that he had smoked a little weed. Rangers Sokol and Paterson had the Plaintiff sit down and asked him if he needed any medical attention or if he wanted to go to the hospital. The Plaintiff said no. (Id. at 43). Ranger Paterson asked him a series of question to assess his well-being: he asked him the name of the current president; what the weather was that day; what was the day of the week; and the current date. (Dep. of Paterson at 38).
*8Paterson testified that he "got responses that were exactly what [he] had asked. There was no waivering [sic]. There was nothing that arose suspicion. It just seemed like he was just very tired." (Dep. of Paterson at 39).
The rangers observed several pills lying on the passenger floor, and the Plaintiff told them that he also had weed. Rangers Sokol and Paterson recovered a quantity of marijuana from the Plaintiff's person. Paterson observed some dried vomit on the passenger seat of the Plaintiff's car. (Id. at 49). The Plaintiff later supported this point by testifying that he had to clean vomit out of his car.
The Plaintiff was placed under arrest. The Plaintiff was arrested for possession of marijuana; possession of a controlled substance; remaining upon Town Park Property while under the influence of non-prescription controlled substances; use of loud, abusive and indecent language on park property; and failure to show identification upon request.
Rangers Sokol and Paterson transported the Plaintiff to the Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct (the "Fourth Precinct") for processing. While he was transporting the Plaintiff, Ranger Paterson explained the process at the precinct, and the Plaintiff seemed coherent. (Dep. of Paterson at 50).
At 10:55 a.m., the Plaintiff arrived at the Fourth Precinct. The Plaintiff walked into the precinct without any assistance. The desk sergeant asked the Plaintiff a series of questions: whether he needed medical attention; whether he was okay; whether he was taking any medication; and what was his pedigree information. The Plaintiff answered all of these questions, and stated that he did not need medical attention.
Sergeant Thomas Healy ("Sergeant Healy" or "Healy") of the SCPD was the desk officer at that time. He testified that he had no independent recollection of interacting with the Plaintiff. However, on the Prisoner Activity Log, Healy wrote "No" in the section that asks whether the "prisoner claims pain, injury or illness." (Prisoner Activity Log, Suffolk Defs. Ex. J). Healy also noted that the Plaintiff was unsteady on his feet, lethargic, and spoke with slurred speech.
Healy did not recall a prisoner ever failing to give a response to his questioning concerning injury or illness. He does not remember the Plaintiff ever making any statements about attempting to take his life; and testified that he would have noted such statements if they had been made, and would have sent the prisoner to the hospital. Healy testified that if a prisoner asks for medical attention, the officer to whom the request was made would bring that request to the desk sergeant's attention. While he has no independent recollection, Healy testified that the records reflect that the Plaintiff did not request medical attention while housed at the Fourth Precinct. Although Healy does not remember it, Ranger Paterson testified that he told him that the Plaintiff claimed to have ingested nine diazepam and two tabs of acid. (Paterson Dep. at 60).
The prisoner activity log shows that the Plaintiff was in custody at the Fourth Precinct from 10:55 a.m. until 3:20 p.m. The officers noted in the activity log that the Plaintiff was calm the entire time. At three different times, he took drinks of water. At 12:03 p.m., Ranger Paterson remarked on the log that the Plaintiff was "cooperative." At 3:20 p.m., the Plaintiff signed a desk appearance ticket. The Plaintiff testified that he remembered signing the desk appearance ticket. (Dep. of Robert Boston at 63-66).
After issuing the Plaintiff a desk appearance ticket, Ranger Paterson sought to *9bring the Plaintiff home. He did not want the Plaintiff to drive because he was very tired, but he did not want him housed overnight at another precinct because the Plaintiff had been cooperative. (Dep. of Paterson at 71). The Plaintiff had provided the officers with his home phone number, but he had told them that no one was home. Paterson asked the Plaintiff if he would rather go to a jail cell or go home and get some sleep. The Plaintiff told Paterson that he wanted to go home; specifically, he said he was tired and wanted to go to bed. (Dep. of Paterson at 75).
While he was at the Fourth Precinct, the Plaintiff never requested medical attention; never complained of any injury or illness; and never disclosed that he had attempted suicide.
Ranger Paterson drove the Plaintiff home, and Ranger Sokol followed in a separate car. Paterson parked in the driveway. He asked the Plaintiff whose cars were in the driveway, and the Plaintiff told him that the two cars belonged to him and his wife. The Plaintiff further stated that he had thought his wife was still at work, and asked Ranger Paterson to go speak with her if she was home. The Plaintiff remained in the car. The car was running, the air conditioning was on, and the windows were cracked. (Dep. of Sokol at 92).
Ranger Paterson spoke to the Plaintiff's wife, Joann Boston. He explained to her what happened, and she said that she would not let him into the house. The Plaintiff's daughter, Kayla Boston, ran out of the house to where her father was, and yelled at him, saying that she hated him. The car door was open, and she pulled it open more to yell at him. Ranger Sokol came around to prevent Kayla Boston from opening the door all the way. Kayla Boston testified by deposition that her father did not respond. She said that "he wasn't [her] dad at that moment. He was looking at [her], but like he was looking through [her] [ ] like [she] was a stranger ...." (Dep. of Kayla Boston at 92). She ran back inside. She testified that she did not know if he was in need of medical attention or in distress at that point. (Id. at 160).
About that time Joann Boston walked outside, and saw the Plaintiff in the car. She went to tell him that his mother was coming to get him. Joann Boston testified that the Plaintiff:
was sitting in the back [of the car] and he was tipped over[,] and his eyes were like blank. They looked like dead eyes. They weren't his eyes. And he seemed pale and sweaty. And he was tipped over. And I tried to talk to him. I said, are you okay? And I couldn't get him - he wouldn't even respond to me. So I said to the officer - I said, he doesn't need to sleep it off under the tree, he needs an ambulance, he needs to go to the hospital. And he said, well you can call 911 if you want.
(Dep. of Joann Boston at 92). She went inside and called 911. The Plaintiff suffered a seizure at that point. An ambulance arrived and took the Plaintiff to St. Catherine's Hospital. The Plaintiff was in a coma for six days. He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder ; has lost most of his sense of smell; has lost many fine motor senses; and does not see as well as he used to.
Prior to these events, the Plaintiff had never suffered a drug induced seizure despite having taken many drugs over the course of many years.
Relevant here, the officers also testified as to their respective training. Ranger Sokol testified that he had never received any training in the signs and symptoms of narcotic use, (Sokol Dep. at 23), and that there are no specific regulations as to how *10to deal with someone in medical distress, (id. at 28). Ranger Paterson testified that he did not receive any training with regard to the use of drugs, (Paterson Dep. at 16-17), the identification of drugs, (id. ), or how to interact with arrestees, (id. at 20-21). He testified, however, that he was trained in the administration of Narcan, (id. at 17), which is a medication that blocks the effects of opioids, especially in overdose. Sergeant Healy testified that he did not receive any training on how drugs might affect people. (Dep. of Healy at 18).
B. The Relevant Procedural Background
On October 1, 2013, the Plaintiff served an unverified Notice of Claim on the Town of Smithtown and Suffolk County. On November 8, 2013, the Plaintiff served an amended verified Notice of Claim on the Town of Smithtown and Suffolk County.
On October 3, 2014, the Plaintiff filed his complaint. The Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants deprived him of his Fourteenth Amendment rights in violation of
On June 23, 2017, the Suffolk Defendants and the Smithtown Defendants filed their respective motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56.
On August 4, 2017, the Plaintiff filed his motion to amend the complaint pursuant to Rule 15.
II. DISCUSSION
A. As to the Plaintiff's Motion to Amend
1. Rule 15(c)(1)(C)
The Plaintiff seeks to amend his complaint pursuant to Rule 15(c)(1)(C) to substitute certain officers for John Doe defendants. The Defendants argue that the statute of limitations has passed, and Rule 15(c)(1)(C) does not permit relation back in this situation where there was no mistake of identity. The Court finds that the Plaintiff cannot avail himself of the provisions of Rule 15(c)(1)(C).
"Rule 15(c)(1)(C) provides the federal standard for relation back." Hogan v. Fischer ,
(1) the claim must have arisen out of conduct set out in the original pleading; (2) the party to be brought in must have received such notice that it will not be prejudiced in maintaining its defense; (3) that party should have known that, but for a mistake of identity , the original action would have been brought against it; and (4) the second and third criteria are fulfilled within 120 days of the filing of the original complaint, and the original complaint was filed within the limitations period.
" 'John Doe' pleadings cannot be used to circumvent statutes of limitations *11because replacing a 'John Doe' with a named party in effect constitutes a change in the party sued." Barrow ,
Therefore, because the Second Circuit has explicitly held that "lack of knowledge of a John Doe defendant's name does not constitute a 'mistake of identity,' " Hogan ,
Contrary to the Plaintiff's arguments, Barrow is still the law of the Second Circuit. See, e.g., DaCosta v. City of New York ,
More importantly, the Plaintiff has not supplied a proposed amended complaint, and did not mention once in his motion which officers he sought to substitute for the John Does. The Defendants and the Court are left to speculate as to which officers the Plaintiff seeks to substitute. It is not clear whether the Plaintiff seeks to substitute certain officers in their individual capacities, their official capacities, or both. This is an insufficient showing, and sufficient reason to summarily deny the Plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint pursuant to Rule 15. See Christian v. Town of Riga ,
While it is true that a Court may grant a motion to amend based solely on the moving papers where the "papers adequately explain the basis for, and nature of, the proposed amendment," Murray ,
In any event, as stated above, even if the Plaintiff had named certain officers, he would not be able to avail himself of Rule 15(c)(1)(C).
Therefore, the Plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint pursuant to Rule 15(c)(1)(C) is denied.
2.
While the Plaintiff did not raise the issue, in an abundance of caution, the Court will also examine whether the Plaintiff would be permitted to substitute certain police officers for the John Doe Defendants under
The Second Circuit has held that even where a plaintiff's claims do not relate back under Rule 15(c)(1)(C), "Rule 15(c)(1)(A) permits an amended pleading to relate back when 'the law that provides the applicable statute of limitations allows relation back.' " Hogan ,
New York State law "provides a more forgiving principle of relation back in the John Doe context, compared to the federal relation back doctrine under Rule 15(c)(1)(C).
A party who is ignorant, in whole or in part, of the name or identity of a person who may properly be made a party, may proceed against such person as an unknown party by designating so much of his name and identity as is known. If the name or remainder of the name becomes known all subsequent proceedings shall be taken under the true name and all prior proceedings shall be deemed amended accordingly.
Under Section 1024 of the N.Y. C.P.L.R., a court may allow a plaintiff to substitute a named party for a John Doe party if the plaintiff meets two requirements: (1) " 'exercise due diligence, prior to the running of the statute of limitations, to identify the defendant by name,' " and (2) "describe the John Doe party 'in such form as will fairly apprise the party that [he] is the intended defendant. " Hogan ,
"To identify unknown parties after filing, a plaintiff is advised to serve discovery demands upon any known parties, seek disclosures pursuant to a Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") request, or otherwise act with diligence." Williams ,
Here, the Court finds that the Plaintiff did not act with due diligence. Assuming for the purposes of this analysis that the Plaintiff seeks to substitute Healy, Sokol and Paterson for the John Doe Defendants, the Plaintiff knew their identities years ago, yet failed to serve process upon them.
In New York, the statute of limitations for claims brought pursuant to Section 1983 is three years. Morales v. Cty. of Suffolk ,
The Plaintiff cannot avail himself of the benefits of § 1024 where it is clear that he had the names of Sergeant Healy, Ranger Sokol and Ranger Paterson before the statute of limitations had run. The Plaintiff had the names of the officers before the statute of limitations expired, yet made no attempt to amend his complaint or serve them. He did not move to amend his complaint until more than three years after he produced documents with their names at the Section 50-E hearing, and a year and a half after he deposed the officers.
"Here, Defendants provided Plaintiff with the names of the officers involved in Plaintiff's arrest prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations and close of discovery, yet Plaintiff did not attempt to amend the Complaint to add any individual officers prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations." Strada ,
While this may be a harsh result, it is mandated by the case law interpreting
"The use of C.P.L.R. 1024 presents many pitfalls. One pitfall is that parties are not to resort to the 'Jane Doe' procedure unless they exercise due diligence, prior to the running of the statute of limitations, to identify the defendant by name and, despite such efforts, are unable to do so. " Bumpus,
Therefore, the Plaintiff cannot avail himself of Section 1024, and his motion to amend his complaint pursuant to Rule 15 to substitute certain officers for the John Doe defendants is denied.
B. As to the Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment
1. The Legal Standard
Under FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a), "[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." When deciding a motion for summary judgment, "[t]he Court 'must draw all reasonable inferences and resolve all ambiguities in favor of the non-moving party.' " Castle Rock Entm't, Inc. v. Carol Publ'g Grp., Inc. ,
"[A]t the summary judgment stage the judge's function is not [ ] to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Redd v. N.Y. State Div. of Parole ,
The movant has the burden of demonstrating the absence of genuine issues of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett ,
*15Liberty Lobby,
2. The Applicable Law
a. Section 1983 Generally
To state a § 1983 claim, a plaintiff must allege: (1) that the challenged conduct was "committed by a person acting under color of state law"; and (2) that such conduct "deprived [the plaintiff] of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States." Cornejo v. Bell ,
b. 1983 Claims Against Municipalities, namely, " Monell Claims"
It is well-established that "a municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat superior theory." Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. ,
To prevail on a Section 1983 claim against a municipality, a plaintiff must show "that 'action pursuant to official municipal policy' caused the alleged constitutional injury." Cash v. Cty. of Erie ,
A plaintiff can establish the existence of a municipal policy or custom by showing:
the existence of[ ] (1) a formal policy which is officially endorsed by the municipality; (2) actions taken or decisions made by municipal officials with final decision-making authority, which caused the alleged violation of plaintiff's civil rights; (3) a practice so persistent and widespread that it constitutes a custom of which constructive knowledge and acquiescence *16can be implied on the part of the policy making officials; or (4) a failure by policymakers to properly train or supervise their subordinates, amounting to deliberate indifference to the rights of those who come in contact with the municipal employees.
Moray v. City of Yonkers ,
Here, the Plaintiff argues that his Monell claims are premised upon an alleged failure to train. "A municipality's culpability for a deprivation of rights is at its most tenuous where a claim turns on a failure to train." Connick ,
" '[D]eliberate indifference' is a stringent standard of fault, requiring proof that a municipal actor disregarded a known or obvious consequence of his action." Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs v. Brown,
"[W]here ... a city has a training program, a plaintiff must ... 'identify a specific deficiency in the city's training program and establish that that deficiency is 'closely related to the ultimate injury,' such that it 'actually caused' the constitutional deprivation." Wray v. City of N.Y. ,
"A pattern of similar constitutional violations by untrained employees is ordinarily necessary to demonstrate deliberate indifference for purposes of failure to train." Connick ,
At the same time, however, the Supreme Court in Connick reaffirmed the viability, in limited circumstances, of the "single-incident" theory of liability envisioned in the Court's prior Canton decision. See
c. Section 1983 Claims for Denial of Medical Care
While the Plaintiff has not named any individual defendants, the Monell claims are based on an alleged denial of medical care. Where a plaintiff was allegedly deprived of medical care, courts construe the rights seeking to be vindicated as arising under either the Eight Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, Caiozzo v. Koreman ,
Instead, "[a] pretrial detainee's claims of unconstitutional conditions of confinement are governed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, rather than the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eight Amendment." Darnell ,
Here, the Plaintiff was not a convicted prisoner, but an arrestee being held by the police. Nevertheless, "it is plain that an unconvicted detainee's rights are at least as great as those of a convicted prisoner." Weyant v. Okst ,
A plaintiff alleging deliberate indifference to medical needs must satisfy two prongs: an "objective prong" showing that "the alleged deprivation [was] sufficiently *18serious, in the sense that a condition of urgency, one that may produce death, degeneration, or extreme pain, existed," Hill v. Curcione ,
However, in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Kingsley v. Hendrickson , --- U.S. ----,
the pretrial detainee must prove that the defendant-official acted intentionally to impose the alleged condition, or recklessly failed to act with reasonable care to mitigate the risk that the condition posed to the pretrial detainee even though the defendant-official knew, or should have known, that the condition posed an excessive risk to health or safety. In other words, the "subjective prong" (or "mens rea prong") of a deliberate indifference claim is defined objectively.
Darnell ,
3. Application to the Plaintiff's Claims
a. As to the Claims Against the SCPD and the TSPP
The Plaintiff cannot sustain his claims against the SCPD and the TSPP because those agencies are administrative arms of the respective municipalities.
"Under New York law, departments that are merely administrative arms of a municipality do not have a legal identity separate and apart from the municipality and, therefore, cannot sue or be sued." Davis v. Lynbrook Police Dep't ,
Accordingly, the Defendants' motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 dismissing the claims against those entities is granted.
b. As to the Claims Against Suffolk and Smithtown
Smithtown and Suffolk contend that the Plaintiff cannot establish municipal liability because there is no underlying constitutional violation. They further argue that the Plaintiff has not presented any evidence that any alleged constitutional injury was the result of a policy, practice or custom. The Court disagrees with both points, and finds that the Plaintiff has presented enough evidence for the Court *19to find that there are sufficient material questions of fact as to whether he was denied medical care under Section 1983 ; and as to whether that denial was the result of a failure to train by Suffolk and Smithtown.
i. As to Whether the Plaintiff Was Denied Medical Care
A. The Objective Prong
The Plaintiff told the officers that he had taken nine diazepam pills, two tabs of acid, and smoked some marijuana. He was asleep when they found him. Rangers Paterson and Sokol observed vomit on the seat. They were so concerned about him that they had him sit down. When he arrived at the Fourth Precinct, he was unsteady on his feet; had slurred speech; and was lethargic. Rangers Sokol and Paterson informed Sergeant Healy of the SCPD that the Plaintiff admitted to taking a large quantity of drugs. By the time the rangers attempted to drop him off at home, his daughter said that he looked like a zombie. Neither the TSPP rangers nor the SCPD officers ever gave him medical attention. These facts, coupled with the officers' knowledge that the Plaintiff had ingested a large quantity of drugs, indicate that the officers may not have acted reasonably in response to the Plaintiff's sufficiently serious medical situation.
While it is true that "[t]he Constitution does not require an arresting police officer or jail official to seek medical attention for every arrestee or inmate who appears to be affected by drugs or alcohol," Burnette v. Taylor,
The court in Bradway v. Town of Southampton ,
the Court is obviously not suggesting ... that a medical indifference claim will potentially lie simply because officers fail to take every intoxicated arrestee to the hospital at the time of the arrest for treatment. Such a rule would be absurd and, given the number of arrestees who are intoxicated at the time of arrest, would turn hospitals into arrest processing centers.... Instead, much more evidence must be present for a plausible constitutional violation to exist and for a medical indifference claim of this nature to survive summary judgment. In particular, there generally must be evidence that the officers are aware of the ingestion of large quantities of drugs or other intoxicants which, due to the quantities, pose a serious or life-threatening danger to the arrestee, and/or there were obvious signs of distress from the ingestion.
Here, such evidence is present for the Court to find that a plausible constitutional violation exists. Rangers Paterson and Sokol were aware of the ingestion of a *20large quantity of drugs, which, due to the quantity, may have posed a serious and life-threatening danger to the Plaintiff. Furthermore, there were obvious signs of distress: the Plaintiff had fallen asleep; he had vomited in the car; his speech was slurred; he was unsteady on his feet; he was lethargic; and by the time he arrived home, he looked like a "zombie." In such situations, courts have been reluctant to grant summary judgment to defendants. See Border v. Trumbull Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs,
The Defendants rely almost entirely on the fact that the Plaintiff consistently refused medical attention. However, this fact *21alone does not mean that the officers acted reasonably in response to the Plaintiff's situation. Namely, it does not change the conclusion that Rangers Sokol and Paterson were aware that the Plaintiff had placed himself in a life-threatening situation by ingesting a large quantity of drugs. See, e.g., Bradway ,
Although it is true, as the County points out, that the Plaintiff did not introduce any medical evidence to support the contention that his ingestion of drugs created a sufficiently serious question, in the Court's opinion, such expert testimony is not necessary to create a question of fact. The inherent danger of ingesting a large quantity of prescription drugs mixed with other narcotics is something that is "obvious or common in everyday life," Palmer v. Sena ,
Finally, the evidence is clear that the officers never took the Plaintiff to a hospital. The Plaintiff did not receive medical attention until his wife called 911. Therefore, there is a question of fact as to whether they acted reasonably in response to the Plaintiff's sufficiently serious situation. The evidence is clear that the Plaintiff was in a sufficiently serious situation. He was in a coma for six days, and has serious medical residuals. While there is no evidence that the delay in medical treatment caused or exacerbated his condition, the Defendants did not raise that issue, and the Court therefore declines to address it.
Therefore, the Court finds that the Plaintiff has introduced sufficient evidence to create a question of fact as to whether he suffered a medical deprivation that was sufficiently serious. The Defendants' motions for summary judgment on that basis are denied.
B. The Mens Rea Prong
Similarly, the Court finds that there is a question of material fact as to whether officers from both the TSPP and the SCPD "recklessly failed to act with reasonable care to mitigate the risk that the condition posed to the [Plaintiff] even though the [officers] knew, or should have known, that the condition posed an excessive risk to health or safety." Darnell ,
"[F]ollowing Darnell , the Court is faced with a difficult task. It is called upon to determine, without the benefit of medical expertise, whether an objectively reasonable person in Defendant[s'] position would have known, or should have known, that Defendant[s'] actions or omissions posed an excessive risk of harm to [the *22Plaintiff]." Davis ,
As stated above, Rangers Paterson and Sokol knew that the Plaintiff had ingested a dangerous amount of narcotic drugs. Ranger Paterson knew that the prescriptions drugs he took were not prescribed to him. They told Sergeant Healy of the SCPD how much the Plaintiff claimed to have ingested. (See Paterson Dep. at 60 ("[W]as there any conversation about what [the Plaintiff] said he had ingested at that point? Yes, there was. I explained to the sergeant what he had told me and that's when the sergeant asked his questioning [sic] about medical to make sure that, you know, Mr. Boston was okay.") ). All three officers knew that the Plaintiff was at risk, and they asked if he needed medical attention. As At the very least, they should have known that the ingestion of a large quantity of drugs placed the Plaintiff in a serious situation.
Moreover, the Plaintiff exhibited outward signs of distress that put the officers on notice. He was asleep when Rangers Sokol and Paterson found him; there was vomit in the car; he was unsteady on his feet when he exited the car, and when he was brought into the precinct; Sergeant Healy noted that he was lethargic and had slurred speech; and Ranger Paterson testified that "he had a little bit of trouble moving ...." (Paterson Dep. at 66). Under these circumstances, coupled with the officers' knowledge of the Plaintiff's ingestion of drugs, a reasonable juror could find that the officers recklessly failed to act.
Courts have held that officers were aware of, and arguably disregarded, a substantial risk that serious harm would result where they knew that the arrestee ingested drugs and the arrestee exhibited outward signs of distress. See Iacovangelo,
Finally, the Court cannot say as a matter of law that the officers did not act recklessly in failing to provide the Plaintiff with medical care. While it is true that the Plaintiff repeatedly declined medical treatment, *23"[t]here are certainly circumstances where an intoxicated person's statement that he or she does not need medical treatment should not be honored because it is inconsistent with other objective facts indicating that hospitalization is clearly necessary." Bradway ,
Therefore, the Plaintiff has shown that there is a question of fact as to whether Rangers Paterson and Sokol, and Sergeant Healy "recklessly failed to act with reasonable care to mitigate the risk that the condition posed to the [Plaintiff] even though the[y] [ ]knew, or should have known, that the condition posed an excessive risk to health or safety." Darnell ,
ii. As to Whether the Plaintiff's Constitutional Injury Was the Result of a Failure to Train by Suffolk and/or Smithtown
The Plaintiff argues that a question of fact remains as to whether Suffolk and Smithtown failed to adequately train their officers, and that a rational juror could find that they should be held liable for the Plaintiff's constitutional injuries. In opposition, Suffolk and Smithtown contend that the Plaintiff's complaint alleges that the municipalities' liability is premised upon a custom, policy, usage, practice, procedure, or rule, and that the Plaintiff has failed to produce any evidence that his injury was the result of a custom, practice, or policy. The Court, in its discretion, reads the complaint broadly to include a claim for failure to train and finds that the Plaintiff has introduced sufficient evidence for the Court to submit his Monell claims to the jury.
As to the wording of the claim, while it is true that in the complaint, the Plaintiff bases his Monell claim on "customs, policies, usages, practice[s], procedures and rules" of the respective municipalities, a failure to train is in itself a type of policy. See Connick ,
As to the substance of the claim, the Plaintiff introduced, through deposition testimony, that Rangers Sokol and Paterson had never received any training from Smithtown on how to identify drugs; how drugs affect people; how to deal with individuals who are clearly in medical distress; or how to interact with arrestees. Sergeant Healy testified that he never received any training from Suffolk regarding how drugs affect people. He further testified that a desk officer only needed to know when a prisoner had ingested a foreign substance if the ingestion was part of a suicide attempt.
The Plaintiff has not introduced any evidence of "[a] pattern of similar constitutional violations" as is "ordinarily necessary to show deliberate indifference for purposes of failure to train." Connick,
Namely, the facts show that both Suffolk and Smithtown knew "to a moral certainty,"
*24Walker,
The situation in this case-whether or not to bring the Plaintiff to the hospital after he ingested a large quantity of drugs but refused medical attention-"present[ed] the [officers] with a difficult choice of the sort that training ... w[ould] make less difficult ...."
Other courts have found that similar single-incident claims survive motions for summary judgment or motions to dismiss. See Gerskovich v. Iocco , No. 15 CIV. 7280 (RMB),
While some courts have read Connick to define the requirements for succeeding on a single-incident theory so narrowly as to eviscerate it, other courts have read the Supreme Court ruling to permit single-incident theory under certain circumstances. See Waller ,
Therefore, the Court finds that there is a material issue of disputed fact as to whether the Plaintiff's injuries were caused by Suffolk and Smithtown's failure to train their officers on the effects of drugs on individuals and how to interact with arrestees. Accordingly, the Defendants' motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 dismissing those claims is denied.
4. As to the Plaintiff's State Law Claims
Suffolk and Smithtown both summarily claim that the Plaintiff failed to comply with the requirements of
III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the Plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint pursuant to Rule 15 is denied; and the Defendants' motions for summary judgment are granted in part and denied in part. The motions for summary judgment are granted to the extent that the SCPD and TSPP are administrative arms that cannot be sued separate and apart from their respective municipalities and the claims against them are therefore dismissed. The motions for summary judgment are denied to the extent that the Plaintiff's Monell claims and state law claims against Suffolk and Smithtown shall be presented to the jury.
It is SO ORDERED.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Robert BOSTON v. SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK, Suffolk County Police Department, Town of Smithtown, New York, Town of Smithtown Park Police, Suffolk County Police Officers John Doe 1 to John Doe 5, Town of Smithtown Department of Public Safety Personnel and/or Park Rangers John Doe 1 to John Doe 5
- Cited By
- 19 cases
- Status
- Published