Opinion ID: 3217265
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The October Incident

Text: The final incident occurred on October 22, 2009. Plaintiff’s and Defendants’ accounts of the incident differ. Plaintiff’s unsworn response to Defendants’ summary judgment motion asserts that “[d]uring th[e] entire week leading up to [this incident], the entire [facility] was denied recreation and showers for no reason.” Upset by this state of affairs, Plaintiff “packed up [his] property and [] jacked the food slot [to his cell,] demanding [his] recreation and a shower.” Plaintiff’s sworn complaint states that in response, Officer Tidwell emptied a full fire extinguisher into Plaintiff’s cell, causing severe injury to Plaintiff’s lungs and eyes, including temporary blindness. According to Defendants, Plaintiff “refused to allow his food slot to be closed, threw feces on staff members, and then set his laundry bag on fire and tossed it in front of his cell door.” Officer Tidwell sprayed the laundry bag with a fire extinguisher “as [Plaintiff] continued to throw items out of his cell.” He did 6 Case: 14-15484 Date Filed: 06/27/2016 Page: 7 of 40 not aim the extinguisher into Plaintiff’s cell and testified that doing so would have been impossible from where he stood. In light of Plaintiff’s conduct, Warden Reese authorized a use-of-force team. Lieutenant Willie Samuel ordered Plaintiff to submit to handcuffs multiple times. According to Lieutenant Samuel, Plaintiff refused and continued to throw feces out of his cell. The use-of-force team attempted to enter Plaintiff’s cell, but Plaintiff had jammed the lock. A locksmith was summoned. Officer Rodney Jones (who is not a defendant in this action) states in his declaration that Plaintiff attempted to prevent the locksmith from unlocking Plaintiff’s cell door, at which point Lieutenant Samuel ordered Officer Jones to spray approximately six rounds of pepper spray into Plaintiff’s cell through the cell’s food slot. Once the lock was cleared, the team entered Plaintiff’s cell, subdued him, and cuffed his hands and feet. Plaintiff’s sworn complaint states that Officer Tidwell “gratuitously kick[ed] [Plaintiff’s] head and skull.” Plaintiff’s response to Defendants’ summary judgment motion states that, after reviewing Defendants’ evidence, he realized that Officer Darren Parker (who is not a defendant in this action) was actually the person who had kicked Plaintiff in the head. 4 As soon as Plaintiff was restrained, he was taken to the health services unit for evaluation. He received treatment for a “three-inch superficial laceration” with 4 Parker’s affidavit states that he accidentally tripped over another team member after Plaintiff was restrained. 7 Case: 14-15484 Date Filed: 06/27/2016 Page: 8 of 40 mild bleeding on the top of his head as well as small abrasions above his eyebrow and on the inside of his left wrist. The physician’s assistant who treated Plaintiff stated in her declaration that she did not believe Plaintiff’s head injuries were “consistent with a kick from a boot or shoe.” A memorandum to Warden Reese from the nurse who helped treat Plaintiff states that no other injuries were found during a head-to-toe evaluation of Plaintiff. Plaintiff was placed in four-point restraints for approximately six hours, during which time he claims he was bleeding and was forced to urinate and defecate on himself. Multiple Defendants stated in their sworn declarations that they did not observe Plaintiff urinate or defecate on himself and, if they had, they would have cleaned him up and given him a change of clothes immediately.