Opinion ID: 673674
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts surrounding ward's suicide

Text: 2 Viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff Ward, the evidence presented demonstrates the following. At 11:20 p.m. on December 10, 1987, Officer Simmons arrested Ward for burglary. Simmons transported Ward to the Cayce jail, where Ward confessed to committing the crime. During his confession, Ward explained that he had a drinking problem. Simmons' affidavit, presented in support of summary judgment, stated that during the hour of contact he had with Ward, Ward did not exhibit any unusual behavior or indicate any intent to harm himself. On the contrary, Simmons believed that Ward exhibited a very casual attitude toward his arrest. 3 After the confession, Ward was taken to the booking area and was left in the custody of Officer Holmes. It is undisputed that Holmes had no prior information concerning Ward, was not present during the confession, and did not have access to a tape recording of the confession. When Holmes asked Ward during the booking process whether he had suicidal thoughts, Ward responded that he did not and appeared calm and in control. Holmes also asked Ward whether he had any scars. Ward indicated that he did not, and Holmes did not notice any. At one point, Ward commented that he wanted his bicycle given to a deserving person. 4 Holmes stated in an affidavit submitted in support of his motion for summary judgment that he removed Ward's belt, as required by jail policy, before placing him in a cell. It is unknown whether Holmes failed to take the belt from Ward or whether Ward retrieved the belt from the desk after Holmes took it from him. In any event, Ward had his belt when he was placed in a cell by Holmes at approximately 1:00 a.m. 5 During a routine inspection at approximately 1:30 a.m., Ward told Holmes that he wanted to telephone his wife to arrange for bail and his employer to notify him that he would not report for work that day. At approximately 1:50 a.m., during Holmes' next inspection, he discovered Ward hanging by his neck from his belt, which was tied to the cell bars. Holmes immediately cut Ward down and examined him for a pulse and respiration. Finding neither, he then ran to the nearby dispatcher's desk to seek assistance. Not more than 30 seconds later, Holmes returned to the cell, encountering two other officers who had arrived to assist. These officers began cardiopulmonary resuscitation while Holmes ran to a firehouse located in the adjacent building to summon paramedics. 6 Other evidence presented by Plaintiff Ward in opposition to summary judgment demonstrated that approximately one month prior to Ward's arrest for burglary, West Columbia, South Carolina police responded to a complaint from Ward's employer. Ward was intoxicated and told those officers that he was contemplating suicide. It is undisputed that Holmes was unaware of this prior incident, that the City of Cayce does not routinely check with other area police departments to ascertain if they have been involved with arrestees, and that there is no established method for sharing such information. Plaintiff Ward's affidavit stated that Ward had a drinking problem for which his family had attempted to have him committed, that Ward had talked to her about his death, and that Ward had a 13-year-old scar on his forearm from a prior suicide attempt.