Miles v. Kentucky Department of Corrections et al

Filing 5

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER: IT IS ORDERED: 1. Clerk is directed to issue summons to Don Bottom, Warden, at address listed in order, to respond to pla's 1 complaint; 2. Clerk shall prepare a "Service Packet" as indicated in this ord er; 3. Clerk shall deliver Service Packet to USMS; note date of delivery; 4. USMS shall personally serve Service Packet upon Don Bottom; 5. Clerk is further directed to serve a copy of this Order on the Kentucky Department of Corrections, & note serv ice date in the docket sheet; 6. Miles must immediately advise Clerk's Office of any change in current mailing address; Failure may result in dismissal of case; 7. For every further pleading or other document, pla shall serve upon each defendan t, or, if appearance has been entered by counsel, upon each atty, a copy of the pleading or other document; pla shall send the original papers to be filed w/ the Clerk together w/ certificate stating date a true & correct copy of document was mailed to each dft or counsel. Signed by Judge Joseph M. Hood on May 14, 2015. (MWZ) cc: COR (Pla via U.S. Mail, USMS w/ Service Packet, Copy of Order to KY Dept. of Corrections via U.S. Mail

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
CENTRAL DIVISION
LEXINGTON

DARRELL L. MILES,

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)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Plaintiff,
V.
DON BOTTOM, Warden, et al.,
Defendants.
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Civil No. 5:15-CV-126-JMH

MEMORANDUM OPINION
AND ORDER

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Darrell L. Miles is in custody of the Kentucky Department
of

Corrections

Northpoint

(“KDOC”)

Training

and

Center

is

presently

(“NTC”)

in

confined
Burgin,

in

the

Kentucky.

Proceeding pro se, Miles has filed a complaint, although not
styled as such,1 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against the KDOC;
LaDonna Thompson, Commissioner, KDOC; Don Bottom, Warden at NTC,
and nine other prison officials at NTC, claiming that these
prison

officials

have

violated

his

constitutional

rights

by

being deliberately indifferent to his safety and security needs,

1

In lieu of filing a complaint, Miles filed a motion for a
preliminary injunction, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 65. For
administrative purposes, the Clerk of the Court has docketed
this matter as prisoner civil rights action filed under 42
U.S.C. § 1983.  

in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
by violating his rights to equal protection, and by retaliating
against him for filing grievances and requests to be placed in
the

Special

Management

Unit

(“SMU”)

to

protect

himself

from

further harm allegedly being inflicted upon him by other inmates
at NTC. [R. 1] At this juncture, the Court construes Miles’s
motion

for

pursuant

to

a
42

preliminary
U.S.C.

§

injunction
1983,

that

as

a

seeks

complaint
injunctive

filed
relief

against the named defendants.
The Court screens civil rights complaints pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1915A.

McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601, 607-08

(6th Cir. 1997).

This is a pro se complaint and, as such, it is

held

to

less

attorneys.
Kerner,

404

stringent

standards

than

those

drafted

by

See Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319 (1972); Haines v.
U.S.

519

(1972).

The

allegations

in

a

pro

se

complaint must be taken as true and construed in favor of the
plaintiff.
1983).

See Malone v. Colyer, 710 F.2d 258, 260 (6th Cir.

Under

28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), a district court has

authority to dismiss a case at any time if it determines either
that the action is frivolous or malicious, or if it fails to
state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
NAMED DEFENDANTS

2 

The

named

defendants

are:

(1)

Kentucky

Department

of

Corrections (“KDOC”), (2) LaDonna Thompson, Commissioner, KDOC,
(3)

Don

Bottom,

Warden,

NTC,

(4)

Brad

Adams,

Admin.

Sect.

Supervisor, NTC, (5) Rick Rowlette, Deputy Warden, NTC, (6) Gary
Prestigiacomo,
Correctional

Deputy
Officer,

Warden,
NTC,

NTC,
Earl

(8)

(7)

Craig

Walls,

Hughes,

Correctional

Officer, NTC, (9) Mendalyn Cochran, Correctional Officer, NTC
(10)

Jack

Godbey,

Correctional

Officer,

NTC,

(11)

Stephanie

Hughes, Correctional Officer, NTC, (12) Lt. Crane, NTC, and (13)
Bridgett Gillihand, Sr. Captain, NTC.
CLAIMS ASSERTED
Miles

claims

that

NTC

prison

officials

have

failed

to

protect him from being assaulted with human feces on more than
one occasion by other inmates while he is sleeping1 and that they
have been deliberately indifferent to his safety needs and the
risks

to

his

health

by

these

recurring

assaults,

all

in

violation of his rights under the Eighth Amendment of the United
States Constitution and that they have retaliated against him
for filing grievances concerning this matter and seeking to be
placed

in

protective

custody

to

prevent

further

harm

from

1

 Elaborating, Miles explains that while he is sleeping, other

inmates, using a straw or other instrument, place feces in the
back of his mouth as far as possible, then they intentionally
touch him on the rectum to awaken him, and that upon being
awakened, he ingests the feces by swallowing it. [R. 1, p. 2]
3 

additional exposure to human feces.

Miles claims that as the

result of past assaults with human waste, he has had to seek
medical

treatment

for

bacterial

infections

caused

by

such

exposure and ingestion of human waste.2
Miles states that in March of 2015, he removed himself from
being susceptible to these human feces assaults by requesting to
be placed in Protective Custody (“PC”), and that he was placed
in PC for a period of time.

However, he also states that on

March 27, 2015, NTC prison officials Stephanie Hughes and Deputy
Warden Prestigiacomo removed him from PC and told him he could
no longer hide in the Special Management Unit.

[R. 1, p. 3]

As evidenced by Exhibit “D” to his complaint, Miles alerted
NTC Warden Don Bottom to this problem in October of 2014.

[R.

1-4] Further, as evidenced by Exhibit “C” to the complaint,
Miles

has

brought

this

matter

to

NTC

Deputy

Warden

Gary

Prestigiacomo’s attention on more than one occasion, all to no
avail, he claims.

Miles also alleges that NTC prison officials

have retaliated against him for seeking protection from these
human feces assaults by placing him back in the same prison dorm
setting where the prior assaults occurred.

He requests either

to be placed in a two-man cell so that he would not be sleeping

2
  Miles states that currently has a helicobacter pylori bacterial

infection and seeks treatment for it.

4 

in a room with a group of inmates, or to be transferred to
another correctional institution, as he claims was recommended
by the Classification Committee.
Given

the

seriousness

of

Miles’s

allegations

and

the

potential health risks associated with the exposure to human
waste

products,

the

Court

concludes

that

at

this

juncture,

without further delay, summons should issue to the Warden at
Northpoint Training Center to respond to plaintiff’s complaint.
Accordingly, IT IS SO ORDERED:
1. The Clerk of the Court is directed to issue summons to Don
Bottom,

Warden,

Northpoint

Training

Center,

Highway

33,

Box

479, Burgin, KY 40310, to respond to plaintiff’s complaint.
[R. 1].
2.

The Clerk shall prepare a “Service Packet” for the

defendant, which shall include:
a.
b.

the complaint [R. 1];

c.

this Order; and

d.
3.

a completed summons form;

a completed USM Form 285.

The Clerk shall deliver the Service Packet to the USMS

and note the date of delivery in the docket.
4.

The USMS shall, through arrangement with Northpoint

Training Center, personally serve the Service Packet upon Don
5 

Bottom, Warden, Northpoint Training Center, Highway 33, Box 479,
Burgin, KY 40310.
5.

The Clerk is further directed to serve a copy of this

Order on the Kentucky Department of Corrections, and to note the
service date in the docket sheet.
6.

Miles must immediately advise the Clerk’s Office of

any change in his current mailing address.

Failure to do so may

result in dismissal of this case.
7.

For every further pleading or other document he wishes

to submit to the Court for consideration, the plaintiff shall
serve upon each defendant, or, if appearance has been entered by
counsel, upon each attorney, a copy of the pleading or other
document.

The plaintiff shall send the original papers to be

filed with the Clerk of the Court together with a certificate
stating the date a true and correct copy of the document was
mailed to each defendant or counsel.
This the 14th day of May, 2015.

6