# United States Court **of Appeals**  **f or the Fifth Circuit** 

**____________** No. 23

- 50621 Summary Calendar

**____________ Louis Charles Chapman,** 
Plaintiff

— Appellant **,**

versus
**Danny Wigfall,** Jailer

- Bell County Jail **; FNU Varela,** Jailer

- Bell County Jail **,** Defendants —Appellees

**.**

**______________________________** Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 6:23

- CV

- 572

**______________________________** Before **Wiener ,**  **Stewart ,**  and **Douglas ,**  Circuit Judges

**. Per Curiam**  **:** ***** Louis Charles Chapman appeals the district court’s 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) dismissal for failure to state a claim of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit. We review such dismissal de novo , Legate v. Livingston , 822 F.3d 207, 209

- 10 (5th Cir. 2016) , accepting Chapman’s pleaded facts as true and

**_____________________**

* This opinion is not designated for publication. See **5th Cir . R.**  47.5. United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit 

### FILED January 9, 2024

Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Case: 23-50621 Document: 00517027565 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/09/2024No. 23

- 50621

2 view ing them in the light most favorable to him. See Whitley v. Hanna , 726 F.3d 631, 637 (5th Cir. 2013). Chapman renews his claim that Officers Wigfall and Varela were deliberately indifferent to his safe ty when the y led him back from recreation to his dorm, where he was punched in the face by another inmate . He asserts that the officers were negligent and violated prison policy by failing to conduct a walk

- through to clear other inmates and secure the sc ene before leading him back. However, he has abandoned by failing to brief any argument challenging the district court’s determination that the claim that the officers violated prison policy failed as it was not one of a constitutional dimension. See Yoh ey v. Collins , 985 F.2d 222, 224

- 25 (5th Cir. 1993); see also Brinkmann v. Dallas Cnty. Deputy Sheriff Abner , 813 F.2d 744, 748 (5th Cir. 1987)

. Chapman has likewise abandoned by failing to brief any argument challenging the district court’s reason for di smissing his claims against the officers in their official capacities. See Yohey , 985 F.2d at 225; Brinkmann , 813 F.2d at 748

. Regarding the claim against the officers in their individual capacities, Chapman conceded in the district court that the officer s were unaware that he faced any risk of harm or assault ; consequently, he failed to state a claim for deliberate indifference. See Thompson v. Upshur Cnty ., 245 F.3d 447, 458

- 59 (5th Cir. 2001). Chapman now asserts, for the first time on appeal, that he and the inmate who assaulted him “had been combative toward each other verbally before the assault,” that “the dorm and B shift knew it,” and thus that the officers violated his constitutional rights by ignoring an obvious danger. Because he did not assert these facts in the district court, this court will not consider them. See Theriot v. Parish of Jefferson , 185 F.3d 477, 491 n.26 (5th Cir. 1999)

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- 50621

3 The district court correctly determined that Chapman’s allegations amounted to no more than a claim that the officers were negligent, which does not give rise to a cognizable constitutional claim. Alderson v. Concordia Par. Corr. Facility , 848 F.3d 415, 420 (5th Cir. 2017); see Neals v. Norwood , 59 F.3d 530, 533 (5th Cir. 1995)

. Accordingly, d ismissal was appropriate, and the district court’s judgment is **AFFIRMED**

. Chapman’s motion for the appointment of counsel is **DENIED**

. See Delaughter v. Woodall , 909 F.3d 130, 140

- 41 (5th Cir. 2018) ; Ulmer v. Chancellor , 691 F.2d 209, 213 (5th Cir. 1982).

This court’s affirmance of the district court’s dismissal of Chapman ’s complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) counts as a single strike under § 1915(g). See Adepegba v. Hammons , 103 F.3d 383, 387 (5th Cir. 1996), abrogated in part on other grounds by Coleman v. Tollefson , 575 U.S. 532, 534

- 41 (2015); see also § 1915(h) . Chapman is **WARNED** that if he accumulates three strikes, he will no longer be allowed to proceed in forma pauperis in any civil action or appeal filed while he is incarcerate d or detained in any facility unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury. See § 1915(g). Case: 23-50621 Document: 00517027565 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/09/2024