Tuer v. Broward County Jail et al
Filing
17
ORDER AND OPINION AFFIRMING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF MAGISTRATE ; adopting Report and Recommendations re 14 Report and Recommendations Signed by Judge Kenneth A. Marra on 6/27/2014. (yha)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 13-62732-CIV-MARRA/WHITE
THOMAS TUER,
Plaintiff,
vs.
BROWARD COUNTY JAIL SGT.
RUDOLPH (#4157), DEPUTY
KAESTNER WILLIAMS (#10638),
and DEPUTY CARLOS FONT,
Defendants.
_________________________/
ORDER AND OPINION AFFIRMING REPORT OF MAGISTRATE
THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon the filing of a Complaint under the Civil
Rights Act, 42, U.S.C. § 1983, by Thomas Tuer.
THIS MATTER was referred to the Honorable Patrick A. White, United States
Magistrate Judge, Southern District of Florida. A Preliminary Report of Magistrate
Judge, dated May 27, 2014 [DE 14] has been filed, recommending that the claim of
excessive force against Sgt. Rudolph proceed (for allegedly injuring Plaintiff when he
dragged Plaintiff by his handcuffs which were behind his back), but the claims against
Defendants Font and Williams should be dismissed for failure to state a claim against
them. Plaintiff filed objections.
In order to state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that:
(1) a person acting under color of state law; (2) deprived him of a right secured by
the Constitution. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Eighth Amendment forbids punishments that
are cruel and unusual in light of contemporary standards of decency. U.S. Const.
amend. VIII; Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 405-06 (1986). Accordingly, the Eighth
Amendment governs the conditions under which convicted prisoners are confined and
the treatment they receive in prison. Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1994).
“[P]rison officials must ensure that inmates receive adequate food, clothing, shelter,
and medical care,”•and must “protect prisoners from violence at the hands of other
prisoners.”• Id. at 832-33 (internal quotation omitted); Hernandez v. Florida Dep't of
Corr., 281 F. App'x 862, 865 (11th Cir. 2008).
As to Deputy Williams, Plaintiff states that he was injured while being
transported back to jail from court. Deputy Williams allegedly ordered him to stand
at the threshold of the elevator in order to keep the door from closing, and then
when Deputy Williams was done with what he was doing, Deputy Williams ordered
Plaintiff to step back from the threshold. At that moment Plaintiff fell backwards
because his leg chains had gotten caught in the grooves of the elevator. As a result
of this fall, he broke his right foot. Plaintiff argues that “[i]t is uncertain whether or
not Deputy Williams was aware of Plaintiff’s leg chains being caught between the
floors of the elevator and building, but he should have been more responsible when
he ordered the Plaintiff to place himself in a position to keep the elevator door from
closing which was the very position that caused Plaintiff’s leg chains to fall into the
groove between floors.” DE 15. While the Court is sympathetic that such an injury
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occurred, the Court agrees with the Magistrate Judge that this scenario does not
demonstrate that Deputy Williams acted wantonly or with deliberate indifference.
As to Deputy Font, in the Complaint Plaintiff alleges “Deputy Font escorted me
to the bridge leading to the court house from the main jail. When he brought me my
court clothes to change into before leaving he would taunt me with my clothes,
taking a step backwards while holding my clothes toward me. As I reached for the
clothes he would back up so as to force me to crawl that much further. He would
accuse me of faking [and] then take another step backwards. He then refuse[d] to
assist me with m[y] court papers forcing me to hold them between my teeth as I
crawled to the elevator.” DE 1 at 5.
In his Objections, Plaintiff asserts that Deputy Font’s conduct was deliberate
and malicious because when he took his first “step toward him, putting the weight of
his body on his broken foot (even for ½ second), did cause excruciating pain to
Plaintiff and, more likely than not, exacerbated the damage to the untreated, uncast
broken foot. The extent of the damage cannot be determined (the foot is still
swollen 5 years later) but the extent of the malice can. Furthermore, the distance
from Plaintiff’s cell to the elevator was approximately 100 ft. It was sadistic and
deliberately cruel to make Plaintiff crawl on his hands and knees while he carried his
court papers in this mouth . . .” DE 15 at 3.
By way of his Objections, Plaintiff is changing the nature of his claim, which is
not permitted. Plaintiff has not alleged a lack of necessary medical care, but that
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the Deputy acted maliciously. Plaintiff does not allege that Deputy Font forced him
to take that momentary step, and derogatory, demeaning, profane, threatening or
abusive comments made by an officer to an inmate, no matter how repugnant or
unprofessional, do not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. Edwards v.
Gilbert, 867 F.2d 1271, 1274 n.1 (11th Cir. 1989) (“we note that a petitioner must
allege more than that he has been subjected to “verbal taunts.... [h]owever
distressing” in order to make a claim that jailers have violated their duty of
protection or deprived the petitioner of his constitutional rights”).
To state an Eighth Amendment violation, a prisoner must allege facts to satisfy
both an objective and subjective inquiry regarding a prison official's conduct.
Chandler v. Crosby, 379 F.3d 1278, 1289 (11th Cir. 2004). Under the “objective
component,”• a prisoner must allege a condition that is sufficiently serious to violate
the Eighth Amendment. Id. The challenged condition must be extreme and must
pose an unreasonable risk of serious damage to the prisoner's future health or
safety. Id. (emphasis provided). The Eighth Amendment only guarantees that
prisoners are provided with a minimal civilized level of life's basic necessities. Id.
Restrictive or even harsh conditions alone do not rise to the level of an Eighth
Amendment violation. Id. Plaintiff’s allegation of being forced to crawl 100 feet
with his court papers in his mouth is certainly demeaning, but there is no reason to
believe it posed “an unreasonable risk of serious damage to the prisoner’s future
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health or safety.”1 Accordingly, upon a de novo review of the entire file and record
herein, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that United States Magistrate Judge White’s Report
and Recommendation [DE 14] be, and the same is RATIFIED, AFFIRMED and APPROVED
in its entirety. The claim of excessive force against Sgt. Rudolph may proceed and
the claims against Defendants Font and Williams are dismissed.
As to Plaintiff’s other § 1983 complaint against Armor Medical, Dr. Errol
Campbell and two nurses, purportedly included in the same envelope as the instant
complaint, the Court has no record of such complaint having been filed. Plaintiff is
encouraged to file it again, and if time is an issue, Plaintiff may seek an extension of
time due to extenuating circumstances.
DONE AND ORDERED in chambers at West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, this
27th day of June, 2014.
_________________________
KENNETH A. MARRA
United States District Judge
1
Having failed to satisfy the objective component, it is not necessary to consider
the subjective component.
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