Opinion ID: 2973317
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Gary Greenfield

Text: Defendant Lieutenant Greenfield supervises the Washtenaw County Jail corrections officers. J.A. 1257-58. According to his own testimony, he knew of the risk factors for suicide during the period Griffin was detained. J.A. 1259-60. In addition, he knew of Griffin’s suicidal history and efforts to place him on suicidal precautions during his first detention from reading Norman’s memo and officer incident reports. J.A. 955, 1266-67. Greenfield also had knowledge of Griffin’s suicide attempt on November 11 since he was the responding officer. J.A. 829. Crucially, according to Plaintiff, Greenfield understood Griffin constituted a suicide risk on the evening of November 14 and needed close observation. J.A. 983. Plaintiff asserts that despite having this knowledge and understanding it to be “very important[,]” Greenfield failed to inform Defendant Settles of Griffin’s suicidal risk and history, 28 even though it was supposedly his responsibility. J.A. 1268; see J.A. 1270. If Settles had had access to this information, he could have observed Griffin more carefully. J.A. 1187-88. Further, Plaintiff believes Greenfield ignored his knowledge of Griffin’s suicidal history when he concurred with Sgt. Mellberg’s decision to transfer Griffin from the medical unit to maximum security on November 15. See Appellant’s Br. at 43; J.A. 1112. Plaintiff’s claim that Greenfield could have taken steps to ensure his coworkers had a greater awareness of Griffin’s mental condition and that doing so may have averted his death does not establish deliberate indifference. Likewise, tacking on conjectures of other possible outcomes that could have arisen if Greenfield had performed his duties more thoroughly does not heighten his level of culpability. Despite these shortcomings, though, Plaintiff presents sufficient evidence to suggest that Greenfield may have acted with deliberate indifference to Griffin’s serious medical needs. Greenfield’s involvement with Griffin’s earlier suicide attempt and confinement to the restraining chair, as well as Kelly Norman’s warning to Greenfield on the evening of November 14 that Griffin, though not on formal suicide precautions, remained a suicide threat would have alerted him to the substantial risk posed by moving Griffin to maximum security. J.A. 829, 983, 1266-67. Furthermore, the explicit nature of Norman’s warning would have ensured that Greenfield understood from the facts that Griffin posed a suicide risk, fulfilling the first two elements of the deliberate indifference test. J.A. 983. Nevertheless, when Leonard Mellberg decided to transfer Griffin from the medical unit to an isolated cell in maximum security, Greenfield simply ignored the risk and concurred. J.A. 1112. Since a jury could find that Gary Greenfield acted with deliberate indifference toward Luke Griffin’s suicidal tendencies, this Court REVERSES the lower court’s 29 grant of summary judgment.
As with Mellberg, this Court has found that Greenfield possibly violated Luke Griffin’s constitutional rights by acting with deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. In addition, ample case law within this Circuit, see supra, demonstrates that deliberate indifference toward a detainee’s suicidal tendencies constitutes a violation of which a reasonable person would be aware. Greenfield therefore satisfies the first and second prongs of the qualified immunity test. Turning to the third prong, the Court must decide whether Greenfield acted reasonably under the prevailing law. Unfortunately, his perpetual, and often absurd, insistence in his deposition that he remembers nothing about the events in question makes it impossible for the Court to determine what events transpired leading to Griffin’s suicide and the role Greenfield played in them. For example, he claims not to recall the horrific episode when Griffin was strapped to the restraint chair after attempting suicide and beating his head against the wall, and proceeded to beg jail staff to electrify the chair and kill him, even though Greenfield played a principal role in the event. Compare J.A. 829, with J.A. 1266. Similarly, after having his memory of the incident refreshed, he evasively denied understanding that Griffin had suicidal tendencies at that time.11 Because the record before 11 Q [to Greenfield]: I mean he had a blanket and a piece of string around his neck, right? .... Q: When he was placed in – you would agree that on November 11, 2000 Mr. Griffin was a high risk for suicide, correct, based upon the information you have here? A [from Greenfield]: I would agree that he was banging his head against the wall.... Q: Was he a high risk for suicide? A: You’re asking me to speculate. I’m telling you yeah, if today if I had a person 30 the Court expounding on Greenfield’s actions and perceptions during the period before Griffin’s suicide contains troubling gaps and leaves open factual questions material to determining whether Greenfield acted with deliberate indifference, the Court cannot grant Greenfield qualified immunity at this time. See Dickerson, 101 F.3d at 1158.