ARMALIN v. GRIDER et al
Filing
6
Amended Entry Granting Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, Discussing Complaint, and Directing Service of Process. This Entry is being reissued because the distribution of the original was inadvertently issued to the defendants at the Grant County J ail instead of the Henry County Jail. The plaintiff's request to proceed in forma pauperis, Dkt. No. 2 , is granted. The assessment of even an initial partial filing fee is waived because the plaintiff has no assets and no means by which to pay a partial filing fee. (Copy to Plaintiff via U.S. Mail) Signed by Judge William T. Lawrence on 2/7/2018.(JDC)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
ALEXANDER ARMALIN,
Plaintiff,
v.
BRETT GRIDER sue in his official capacities,
KIM DABB Officer, sue in their individual,
CLARK Officer, sue in their individual,
MOORE Officer, sue in their individual,
HENRY COUNTY JAIL,
Defendants.
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No. 1:18-cv-00106-WTL-MJD
Amended Entry Granting Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis,
Discussing Complaint, and Directing Service of Process
This Entry is being reissued because the distribution of the original was inadvertently
issued to the defendants at the Grant County Jail instead of the Henry County Jail.
I. Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis
The plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis, Dkt. No. 2, is granted. The
assessment of even an initial partial filing fee is waived because the plaintiff has no assets and no
means by which to pay a partial filing fee. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4). Notwithstanding the
foregoing ruling, “[a]ll [28 U.S.C.] § 1915 has ever done is excuse pre-payment of the docket
fees; a litigant remains liable for them, and for other costs, although poverty may make
collection impossible.” Abdul-Wadood v. Nathan, 91 F.3d 1023, 1025 (7th Cir. 1996).
II. Background
The plaintiff is a prisoner currently incarcerated at the Grant County Jail. Because the
plaintiff is a “prisoner” as defined by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), this Court has an obligation under 28
U.S.C. § 1915A(b) to screen his complaint before service on the defendants. Pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1915A(b), the Court must dismiss the complaint if it is frivolous or malicious, fails to
state a claim for relief, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such
relief. In determining whether the complaint states a claim, the Court applies the same standard
as when addressing a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See
Lagerstrom v. Kingston, 463 F.3d 621, 624 (7th Cir. 2006). To survive dismissal,
[the] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a
claim for relief that is plausible on its face. A claim has facial plausibility when
the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable
inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Pro se complaints such as that filed by the plaintiff
are construed liberally and held to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted by
lawyers. Obriecht v. Raemisch, 517 F.3d 489, 491 n.2 (7th Cir. 2008).
III. Screening of the Complaint
The plaintiff brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against several defendants,
who were all employees of the Henry County Jail (“the Jail”), as well as against the Jail itself.
The individual defendants are: 1) Brett Grider; 2) Officer Kim Dabb; 3) Officer Clark; and 4)
Officer Moore. The plaintiff seeks compensatory damages and that the Jail be closed down and
condemned. He was a pretrial detainee at the time of the alleged events.
The plaintiff alleges that on February 26, 2016, at approximately 8:30 p.m., a fire was
started in his cell block by another inmate. About six minutes later, Officer Kim Dabb entered
the block and noticed the block was filled with smoke. About four minutes later, Officer Clark
entered the dorm to investigate the fire and found a pair of state-issued pants that were burning.
Officer Clark removed the pants the left the dorm, not realizing that the fire was not put out all of
the way. The inmates were yelling because they could not breathe due to the smoke. Officers
Clark, Moore, and Dabb returned and realized that the smoke was still accumulating. Officer
Clark used the fire extinguisher in an attempt to put out the fire completely. Officer Clark was
upset. He slammed the door and left the dorm, trapping the plaintiff and other inmates in the
dorm breathing the air filled with smoke and now toxic chemicals from the extinguisher. At
approximately 8:43 p.m., thirteen minutes after the fire started, the plaintiff and other inmates
were still yelling, trying to get the attention of the officers. Officers Moore, Dabb, and Clark
returned and discovered the fire had still not been put out completely. The fire extinguisher was
used a second time in an effort to put out the fire. The plaintiff and other inmates asked these
officers several times to be removed from the dorm due to breathing the thick black smoke and
being exposed to toxic chemicals. Officer Clark responded that because an inmate started the
fire, the inmates would have to deal with the chemicals and smoke. Officers Moore and Dabb
agreed with Officer Clark. The officers again left the dorm.
At 8:53 p.m., the fire department was called to make sure the fire had been completely
put out. When the smoke had increased to the point of the plaintiff not being able to see anything
within a couple of feet from his face due to his eyes burning, he and the other inmates were
removed from the dorm and taken to the recreation room. At 8:55 p.m., the fire department
arrived along with the jail commander, Brett Grider. At 8:57 p.m., Commander Grider and
Officer Moore came to the recreation room to talk to the inmates about the fire. The plaintiff
complained about having chest pains and having trouble breathing. His vital signs were taken
and he was given a mat and placed back in the recreation room. At 10:30 p.m., the fire
department informed Commander Grider that the fire had been properly extinguished. The
inmates were placed back in the dorm and were told to clean up the chemicals left from the fire
extinguisher without proper gloves or masks.
Any claim against the Jail itself is dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which
relief can be granted because the Jail is a building, not a suable entity under these
circumstances.
The plaintiff alleges that the individual defendants were deliberately indifferent to his
health and safety. In light of the liberal standard in construing a pro se inmate’s allegations, the
above allegations are sufficient to state a claim of deliberate indifference. See Minix v.
Canarecii, 597 F.3d 824, 831 (7th Cir. 2010) (applying same Eighth Amendment deliberate
indifference standard to pretrial detainees under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment).
IV. Report Change of Address
The pro se plaintiff shall report any change of address within seven (7) days of any
change. The Court must be able to communicate with the plaintiff. If the plaintiff fails to keep
the Court informed of his current address, the action may be subject to dismissal for failure to
comply with Court orders and failure to prosecute.
V. Service of Process
The clerk is designated pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3) to issue process to defendants
1) Brett Grider; 2) Officer Kim Dabb; 3) Officer Clark; and 4) Officer Moore, in the manner
specified by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d). Process shall consist of the complaint (docket 1), applicable
forms (Notice of Lawsuit and Request for Waiver of Service of Summons and Waiver of Service
of Summons), and this Entry.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
_______________________________
Date: 2/7/18
Hon. William T. Lawrence, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana
Distribution:
ALEXANDER ARMALIN
30833
GRANT COUNTY JAIL - IN
214 E. Fourth Street
Inmate Mail/Parcels
MARION, IN 46953
Jail Commander Brett Grider
HENRY COUNTY JAIL
127 N. 12th Street
New Castle, IN 47362
Officer Kim Dabb
HENRY COUNTY JAIL
127 N. 12th Street
New Castle, IN 47362
Officer Clark
HENRY COUNTY JAIL
127 N. 12th Street
New Castle, IN 47362
Officer Moore
HENRY COUNTY JAIL
127 N. 12th Street
New Castle, IN 47362
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