Opinion ID: 169697
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Al Nielsen

Text: On June 16, 2003, Ms. Bishop asked Mr. Jarvis to fix the lights on Larry Palmer's mail truck. He went to Mr. Palmer's mail-sorting case to get the keys, entered the case, and had a conversation with Mr. Palmer and another mail carrier. He started to back out of the case but stopped when Mr. Palmer resumed talking. He then felt two big hands forcefully grab his arms from behind, causing him to lose his balance. He stepped forward, regained his balance, and locked the arm of the attacker, Al Nielsen. At his deposition he explained what happened next: A. So I locked his wrist here so the only thing he's got to hold me with is his thumb, so his thumb against my deltoids, he can't hold me. I kind of act like I'm struggling with him, so I'm actually putting his wrists right there so all he has is his thumb, okay. So when I got his wrist where I want it, then I break it loose and . . . raised [my left] arm, because when you raise your arm above your shoulder you start losing your strength, so you drop . . . it back down to shoulder height or lower. So he dropped his arm down here, and I put my elbow underneath his arm and it covered up his eyes so he couldn't see, and it left all his vital organs open. Q. So what did you do? A. End of story. Q. No, it's not the end of the story, what did you do, did you hit him? A. Well, I  I didn't hit him with a fist, I hit him with an open palm and kind of hit him and pushed him. Q. Where did you hit him? A. Right in the heart. Q. How hard did you hit him? A. Not hard enough to hurt him. Id. at 155-56. Mr. Jarvis further explained his state of mind at the time: I was ready to kill the guy. I didn't know where I was at, I was focused when you train self-defense, and jiu-jitsu, you are a focused person, when you think your life is in danger you are very focused, you don't hear nothing. . . . So I hit him like that, and he kind of went over like that. And my brain  you've got to know how fast your brain works, my brain says, okay, now he's down a little bit, just push his head down and hit him in the nose four or five times with your knee. And something else told me from my training, it says, [your] deltoids will probably not have enough power to overpower his back muscles if he tries to resist, so all you have to do is grab his hair and pull forward and he will automatically come down, then you can hit him four or five times in the nose and he will just about be out if not out for sure. Then you've already got ahold of his hair, all you have to do is reach under, grab his chin, and just  and he's gone. And so I reached up to grab his hair, and I seen the lights. Why, I don't know, I guess the good Lord saved me, I don't know. But I reached up to grab the back of his head and his hair, and I seen the lights, and I just kind of glanced around and I seen the cases, and then I seen my shiny floor, and then I seen the office, and then it struck me where I was at. And I just said, no, no, no, no, don't do it here. And it scared the hell out of me. And that's what I'm afraid I might do to somebody else. Id. at 161-63 (emphasis added). Mr. Palmer, who witnessed the incident, described it less ominously. On July 2, 2003, he gave Ms. Bishop a written statement that Mr. Nielsen had goosed or poked Mr. Jarvis, who then instinctively swung and hit [Nielsen] in the shoulder. Id. at 278. In his later deposition Mr. Palmer testified that Mr. Jarvis was in the mail case with his back to the aisle when Mr. Nielsen walked by and poked him from behind. Id. at 247 (Larry Palmer Dep.). Mr. Jarvis then swung around and hit him on the high shoulder. Id. Mr. Palmer characterized the event as a so what deal. Id. Mr. Nielsen apparently thought that the incident was more serious and reported it to Ms. Bishop. Her initial assessment was that the situation was probably just due to Mr. Jarvis's jumpiness, id. at 268, that he needed some help, and that she would deal with it after she returned from a two-week vacation. On July 2, 2003, shortly after Ms. Bishop's return, Postal Inspector Craig Glende investigated the incident. The depth of his investigation is unclear; it appears that he did not meet with Mr. Palmer (and had left by the time Mr. Palmer gave his written statement to Ms. Bishop), but he did interview Mr. Jarvis and Ms. Frazier. In any event, Mr. Jarvis was handed a letter on July 2 placing him on administrative leave with pay, effective July 3, and the next day he received a letter dated July 2 informing him that he was being placed in off-duty-without-pay status, effective July 5. Although the second letter contained no explanation for the change in his pay status, it did explain that he was being placed off duty because he had struck and kicked coworkers, and retaining [him] on-duty may be injurious to others. Id. at 288. Mr. Jarvis appealed this decision. On July 8, 2003, the Postal Service held a due-process meeting. Mr. Jarvis said that if he hit someone in the right place, he could kill him; that his PTSD was getting worse; that he c[ould] no longer stop the first blow; and that he could not safely return to the workplace. Id. at 46-47. At the meeting Mr. Jarvis asked Ms. Bishop to begin the paperwork for a medical-disability retirement, so that he could avoid being fired. In addition, he volunteered to request that his health-care practitioner, Sonia Hales, a board-certified advanced-practice registered nurse, send Ms. Bishop a letter explaining his PTSD symptoms. Apparently intended to support his medical retirement rather than his continued employment, the letter, which was faxed to Ms. Bishop on July 9, did not minimize the risk that he posed. It said: It was brought to my attention that Mr. Jarvis had recently been involved in a physical altercation with another colleague. Mr. Jarvis who is currently under treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the Veterans Administration Health Care System (VAHCS) had a scheduled appointment with me today. As I reviewed documentation from the past three years several health care providers have noted the severity of his symptoms. PTSD is a chronic disorder and the accompanying symptoms of this illness are very disruptive to an individual's ability to function in every day living and more so in the work place. The recent event involving Mr. Jarvis was unfortunate for all involved. . . . [M]any veterans with PTSD, including Mr. Jarvis[,] experience on going intense psychological distress from both internal (perceived threats) and external (loud noise/unexpected touching) cues. . . . [M]any of these cues . . . resemble . . . past trauma, i.e. combat situations. Physical reactivity when exposed to any type of perceived or real threat often includes aggressive/violent behavior that is difficult for the Veteran to recognize or manage until after the event has occurred. Due to the chronic nature of PTSD it is not likely Mr. Jarvis's symptoms will dissipate in the near future. . . . Unfortunately, the unpredictable nature of PTSD symptoms may pose some threat in the work place. Mr. Jarvis has identified his work at the Postal Service as a significant stressor in his life; a medical retirement may be beneficial for him at this time. Id. at 173.