Opinion ID: 4567449
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Dr. Waldridge

Text: Griffith argues that Dr. Waldridge is liable under a theory of supervisory liability. Section 1983 liability of supervisory personnel “must be based on more than the right to control employees. Section 1983 liability will not be imposed solely upon the basis of respondeat superior. There must be a showing that the supervisor encouraged the specific incident of misconduct or in some other way directly participated in it.” Doe v. Claiborne County, 103 F.3d 495, 511 (6th Cir. 1996) (quoting Bellamy v. Bradley, 729 F.2d 416, 421 (6th Cir. 1984)). Accordingly, “a supervisory official’s failure to supervise, control or train the offending individual is not actionable unless the supervisor ‘either encouraged the specific incident of misconduct or in some other way directly participated in it. At a minimum a plaintiff must show that the official at least implicitly authorized, approved, or knowingly acquiesced in the unconstitutional conduct of the offending officers.’” Shehee v. Luttrell, 199 F.3d 295, 300 (6th Cir. 1999) (quoting Hays v. Jefferson County, 668 F.2d 869, 874 (6th Cir. 1999)); see Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677 (2009) (“[E]ach Government official . . . is only liable for his or her own misconduct.”). Moreover, a plaintiff cannot establish a claim for supervisory liability without establishing an underlying constitutional violation by a supervised employee. See, e.g., McQueen v. Beecher Cmty. Schools, 433 F.3d 460, 470 (6th Cir. 2006) (“Because [the plaintiff] also has not pointed to unconstitutional conduct by any other employee supervised by [the individual defendant], it necessarily follows that the supervisory liability claim . . . must fail.”). Because Griffith has failed to establish that his constitutional rights were violated by Sherrow, Trivette, or Mundine, his claim against Dr. Waldridge fails as well. See id. We therefore affirm the grant of summary judgment in favor of Dr. Waldridge. Nos. 19-5378/5438/5439/5440 Griffith v. Franklin County, Ky., et al. Page 31