(PC) Harris v. Singer et al
Filing
15
ORDER ADOPTING 12 Findings and Recommendations and Dismissing Certain Claims and Defendants signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 2/18/2021. (Jessen, A)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
EMMETT JAMES HARRIS,
12
Plaintiff,
13
v.
14
J. SINGER, et al.,
15
Defendants.
16
No. 1:20-cv-01521-NONE-EPG (PC)
ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDING
THAT PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM AGAINST
DEFENDANT METTS FOR DELIBERATE
INDIFFERENCE TO SERIOUS MEDICAL
NEEDS PROCEED AND ALL OTHER
CLAIMS AND DEFENDANTS BE
DISMISSED
(Doc. No. 12)
17
Plaintiff Emmett James Harris is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis
18
19
in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This action proceeds on plaintiff’s first
20
amended complaint against defendants Singer and Metts in connection with him being shot in the
21
eye and his subsequent medical treatment. This matter was referred to a United States Magistrate
22
Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302.
On December 3, 2020, the assigned magistrate judge issued findings and
23
24
recommendations recommending that this case proceed on plaintiff’s claims against defendant
25
Metts for deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth
26
Amendment and all other claims and defendants be dismissed with prejudice. (Doc. No. 12.)
27
Those findings and recommendations were served on plaintiff and contained notice that any
28
/////
1
1
objections thereto were to be filed within twenty-one (21) days after service. (Id. at 8.) Plaintiff
2
filed objections on December 30, 2020. (Doc. No. 14.)
3
Plaintiff objects to the dismissal of his claim against defendant Singer for use of excessive
4
force in violation of the Eighth Amendment “on the grounds of unfairly prejudicial and lack of
5
personal knowledge inside defendant J. Singer[’]s mind at the time of his causation of serious
6
irreparable damage to the plaintiff at the moment.” (Id. at 1.) Plaintiff’s objections in this regard
7
raise two contentions, the first being that defendant Singer submitted an incident report in which
8
he “alleged to have aimed at the plaintiff[’]s lower torso (hip), only to end up shooting him in the
9
face, warranting his actions as malicious and sadistic.” (Id. at 2.) However, such an allegation
10
does not automatically support the conclusion that defendant Singer’s actions were taken
11
maliciously and sadistically, especially in light of plaintiff’s allegation that defendant Singer
12
apologized and explained that he did not mean to shoot plaintiff in the face. (See Doc. No. 11 at
13
4; Doc. No. 12 at 5–6.) Second, plaintiff asserts that defendant Singer “was issued from superiors
14
a serious bodily injury reprimand, for his actions, which caused irreparable harm to the plaintiff,”
15
(Doc. No. 14 at 2), but as explained by the assigned magistrate judge, “a violation of a prison
16
regulation or policy is not a per se constitutional violation.” (Doc. No. 12 at 6 (quoting Brown v.
17
Galvin, No. 2:16-CV-2629-JAM-DB (PC), 2017 WL 6611501, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 27, 2017)).)
18
Ultimately, the assigned magistrate judge noted in both the first screening order and the
19
pending findings and recommendations that plaintiff does not provide any allegations as to why
20
defendant Singer shot plaintiff. (Doc. No. 8 at 5–6; Doc. No. 12 at 5–6.) The first amended
21
complaint essentially alleges three things in support of plaintiff’s excessive use of force claim:
22
(1) while plaintiff was on the Facility C yard for recreational programming on January 5, 2020,
23
there was an incident of “mutual combat” but plaintiff did not participate in it; (2) plaintiff was
24
shot in the left eye by defendant Singer; and (3) defendant Singer apologized to plaintiff on July
25
8, 2020, saying that he did not mean to shoot plaintiff in the face. (Doc. No. 11 at 3–4.) Plaintiff
26
was given an opportunity to amend his original complaint to include additional factual
27
allegations, such as what occurred prior to defendant Singer’s actions or why he shot plaintiff, but
28
plaintiff failed to do so.
2
1
In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C), this court has conducted a
2
de novo review of the case. Having carefully reviewed the entire file, the court concludes that the
3
magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations are supported by the record and by proper
4
analysis.
5
Accordingly,
6
1. The findings and recommendations issued on December 3, 2020 (Doc. No. 12), are
7
8
adopted in full;
2. This case shall proceed on plaintiff’s claims against defendant Metts for deliberate
9
10
indifference to serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment;
3. All other claims and defendants in plaintiff’s first amended complaint are dismissed
11
12
with prejudice; and
4. This case is referred back to the assigned magistrate judge for further proceedings
13
14
15
16
consistent herewith.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
February 18, 2021
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?