Opinion ID: 2972888
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dispatcher White

Text: Plaintiff contends that White exhibited deliberate indifference to Bradley’s suicidal tendencies because he left Bradley unsupervised in his cell for 36 minutes while he was busy tending to the barricaded gunman situation. (Appellee’s Brief at 39-40.) White’s responsibilities as dispatcher required him to monitor the radio and phones and to make regular checks of the detainees held in the station’s lockup. (J.A. at 221-22.) White testified that he spent 65 to 75 percent of his time monitoring the radio and phones. (J.A. at 222.) To support this role, six CCTV monitors were located above the dispatcher’s desk which allowed the dispatcher to view the interior of each cell. (J.A. at 222.) White testified that he flagged Bradley as being a suicide risk upon hearing his remark. (J.A. at 66.) After Bradley was placed in his cell, White set a timer to remind himself to check on Bradley in one hour. (J.A. at 227.) Upon doing so, White returned to his desk and resumed monitoring the barricaded gunman situation. (J.A. at 229.) At 9:16, 36 minutes after Bradley was placed in his cell, White decided to check on Bradley, at which time he found Bradley lying unconscious on the floor with a blanket tied around his neck. (J.A. at 230.) White noted in his supplemental report that he went to check on Bradley before the hour was up because he was concerned with Bradley’s peculiar behavior. (J.A. at 67.) Upon finding Bradley, White called to Thomson, who entered the cell and began to administer CPR. (J.A. at 66-67.) Again, White’s actions, as alleged by the plaintiff, do not support a finding that White acted with conscious disregard of Bradley’s suicidal tendencies. The option of providing for 15 minute checks of detainees suspected of harboring suicidal tendencies is found under Section II(B)(4)(f) of Article 7 of Ferndale’s Policies and Procedures. (J.A. at 288.) Section II (B)(4) of Article 7 provides that “the duty command officer may exercise one of the following alternatives” if his preliminary evaluation indicates a potential suicide. (J.A. at 287.) Thus, the decision to check on prisoners every 15 minutes was left up to the duty command officer and not the dispatcher, and at no time does the plaintiff allege that White received such an order. Following standard procedure, White set a timer to remind himself to check on Bradley in one hour. (J.A. at 227.) Nonetheless, White decided to check on Bradley 24 minutes early because he was concerned with Bradley’s peculiar behavior. (J.A. at 67.) White testified that he received no training regarding Ferndale’s policies on interacting -12- with suicidal prisoners. (J.A. at 234.) The plaintiff has provided no evidence suggesting that White believed that Bradley might commit suicide if not checked on earlier. Therefore, the district court should have granted White’s motion for summary judgment.