Opinion ID: 4543067
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Funding and Staffing

Text: 20 Case: 18-14567 Date Filed: 06/22/2020 Page: 21 of 23 Plaintiffs next argue that the County failed to fund the Jail adequately, leaving the Jail understaffed. Plaintiffs argue that the Jail’s staffing levels accommodated only hourly rounds and caused the Jail to close one of its housing units, which remained closed at the time of Grochowski’s death. Plaintiffs argue that these conditions posed a substantial risk of serious harm to inmates at the Jail. Again, Plaintiffs have failed to show that the Jail’s funding and staffing levels fall below constitutional minima. As described above, the constitution does not require continuous observation of double-celled inmates. The record shows that the Jail had sufficient staff to perform regular, hourly rounds. Staffing levels were also sufficient to comply with the recommendation from the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association that two guards—one in the control tower and one on the floor— monitor each housing unit. The record also shows that, notwithstanding the closure of one of the Jail’s housing units, the Jail was able to house inmates according to its design, with two inmates per cell. There is no evidence that the Jail had to resort to triple-celling inmates as a result of the housing unit closure. Nor is there any evidence that, had the additional housing unit been open at the time of Grochowski’s death, the Jail would have opted to single-cell any inmates that ordinarily would have been double-celled. And, of course, even had some 21 Case: 18-14567 Date Filed: 06/22/2020 Page: 22 of 23 inmates been single-celled, there is no evidence that Brooks or Grochowski would have been among those inmates. The record does show that both Sheriff Kimbrough and Sheriff Tuggle requested additional funding from the County in order to increase staffing and thereby increase efficiency and safety at the Jail. But Plaintiffs have failed to show that the existing funding and staffing levels posed a substantial risk of serious harm to inmates at the Jail. Again, Plaintiffs have failed to show that either the Jail’s design or its funding and staffing levels violated Grochowski’s Fourteenth Amendment rights. Therefore, the County is entitled to summary judgment. 10