Craigo v. Elkhart City Police Department et al

Filing 10

OPINION AND ORDER The court GRANTS Wayne T. Craigo until 03/28/2018, to file an amended complaint. If he doesnt respond by that deadline, this case will be dismissed without further notice. Signed by Judge Robert L Miller, Jr on 02/27/2018. (Copy mailed to pro se party)(sct)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
SOUTH BEND DIVISION
WAYNE T. CRAIGO,
Plaintiff,
v.

CAUSE NO.: 3:18-CV-112-RLM-MGG

ELKHART CITY POLICE
DEPARTMENT, et al.,
Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
Wayne T. Craigo, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a complaint against the
Elkhart City Police Department, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department, and
the City of Elkhart in the Elkhart Circuit Court. The defendants removed this
case to this federal court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 on the basis of federal
question jurisdiction. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and
a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent
standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers . . .” Erickson v. Pardus, 551
U.S. 89, 94 (2007). Nevertheless, this court must review the complaint and
dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks
monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915A. “In order to state a claim under [42 U.S.C.] § 1983 a plaintiff must
allege: (1) that defendants deprived him of a federal constitutional right; and (2)
that the defendants acted under color of state law.” Savory v. Lyons, 469 F.3d
667, 670 (7th Cir. 2006).

Mr. Craigo alleges that, on March 18, 2016, he was involved in a highspeed chase with the Elkhart City Police. When he stopped his vehicle, he
complied with the police officers’ instructions and advised that he had a spinal
condition. Nevertheless, once Mr. Craigo exited the vehicle, police officers
slammed him into a vehicle and threw him to the ground, which resulted in pain
and numbness in his back and legs. At the Elkhart County Jail, he was not
provided the appropriate medication throughout his eighteen-month stay despite
authorizing the jail staff to access to his medical records. That’s what he alleges
in his complaint.
Though it appears that Mr. Craigo is trying to assert claims of excessive
force and deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, the complaint
doesn’t state a claim against any defendant. Mr. Craigo names the Elkhart City
Police Department, the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department, and the City of
Elkhart as defendants rather than individual defendants. To pursue a claim
under Section 1983 against a local government unit, a plaintiff must show that
his injury was the result of that unit’s official policy or custom. Rice ex rel. Rice
v. Corr. Med. Servs., 675 F.3d 650, 675 (7th Cir. 2012). Mr. Craigo doesn’t
challenge any policy or practice of any of these governmental entities. Moreover,
in the City of Elkhart, the mayor supervises and controls the police departments
and appoints the department head. Elkhart Ordinance § 31.001, available at
http://www.amlegal.com/codes/client /elkhart_in/. Because the Elkhart City
Police Department has no separate legal existence from the City of Elkhart, the
police department isn’t a suable entity. See Fain v. Wayne Cty. Auditor’s Office,

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388 F.3d 257, 261 (7th Cir. 2004); Argandona v. Lake Cty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, 2007
WL 518799, at *3 (N.D. Ind. 2007). The complaint doesn’t state a claim upon
which relief may be granted.
Mr. Craigo can file an amended complaint. See Luevano v. Wal-Mart, 722
F.3d 1014 (7th Cir. 2013). A copy of this court’s approved form – Prisoner
Complaint (INND Rev. 8/16) – is available upon request from the prison law
library. On any amended complaint, he must put the cause number of this case
which is on the first page of this order. He must describe his interactions with
each defendant in detail, including names, dates, locations, and explain how
each defendant used excessive force or was responsible for providing him with
inappropriate medication. This narrative should be organized in numbered
paragraphs. He must refer separately to the unknown defendants even if he does
not know their names. For instance, if he seeks to bring a claim against two
police officers and two nurses, he may refer to them as “Unknown Police Officer
#1,” “Unknown Police Officer #2,” “Unknown Nurse #1,” and “Unknown Nurse
#2,” and should use these names each time he refers to them. Additionally, if
Mr. Craigo seeks to pursue claims against the Elkhart Court Sheriff’s
Department or the City of Elkhart, he must identify the policies or practices that
caused officials to use excessive force or to deprive him of medication.
For these reasons, the court GRANTS Wayne T. Craigo until March 28,
2018, to file an amended complaint. If he doesn’t respond by that deadline, this
case will be dismissed without further notice.
SO ORDERED on February 27, 2018

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/s/ Robert L. Miller, Jr.
JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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