Opinion ID: 2766199
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Officer Nail’s Actions

Text: On the night of July 8, 2010, Officer Nail worked the third shift, which runs from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. the following morning. She was assigned to be the dorm officer for the D-1 unit that night. At 11:30 p.m., Officer Nail, after performing a census check, reported a census count of 100 inmates to the control room officer. That count is recorded in the control room officer’s log. Though Officer Nail does not specifically remember the census check she performed on the night of July 8, 2010, she testified that it usually took place around 11:25 p.m. on nights when lockdown would not occur until 1:00 a.m. 1 In her deposition testimony, Officer Nail acknowledged that the purpose of a census check was simply to “count heads,” whether the inmates were in the dayroom or in their cells. Officer Nail also stated that, unlike the more formal census count that occurs at lockdown, the census check is performed by one officer, the officer assigned to that dorm unit. In her declaration, Officer Nail averred that she “did not see Plaintiff Jesse Losey, or any other inmate, being held down or raped in a cell at Smith State Prison on July 8, 2010 or at any other time.” Officer Nail further averred that had she seen an inmate being held down or raped or even seen two inmates lying on the same bunk, she would have immediately called for assistance to separate the 1 On the night of the attack, the record shows that lockdown did not occur until 1:00 a.m. 6 Case: 14-13748 Date Filed: 01/02/2015 Page: 7 of 16 inmates. No other evidence in the record indicates that Officer Nail actually witnessed any inmate-on-inmate assault, or the presence of two inmates on a single bunk, on the night of July 8, 2010. Officer Nail also averred that she had no information or knowledge of inmate Whitehead’s history or gang affiliation on July 8, 2010. E. The Complaint and Initial District Court Proceedings On April 18, 2012, Losey filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Fulton County against the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC), the GDOC Commisioner, the Warden of SSP, and various SSP correctional officers. At the time, Officer Nail’s identity was unknown to Losey. She was designated as “Mary Doe” in the initial complaint. That complaint included a state law claim against GDOC. On July 2, 2012, the state court entered a consent order dismissing that state law claim along with several of the defendants, including GDOC and the GDOC Commissioner. On the same day, Losey filed a second amended complaint, naming Officer Nail (and other individual correctional officers) for the first time. On August 10, 2012, the defendant officers filed their Answer and removed the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. On August 23, 2012, the case was transferred to the Southern District of Georgia, where SSP is located. 7 Case: 14-13748 Date Filed: 01/02/2015 Page: 8 of 16 The defendants filed dispositive motions. The defendant Warden filed a Motion to Dismiss and the defendant officers filed a Motion for Judgment on the pleadings. After referring the case to a magistrate judge, the district court entered two orders. On October 24, 2012, the district court adopted the Report and Recommendation of the magistrate judge and granted the defendant Warden’s Motion to Dismiss. On November 20, 2012, the district court adopted a separate Report and Recommendation and granted the defendant officers’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. On December 14, 2012, Losey timely appealed both orders. F. Initial Appeal Before This Court On June 4, 2013, this Court affirmed the dismissal of all claims against the Warden and the other defendant officers, but held that the district court erred in granting the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings in favor of Officer Nail. Losey v. Warden, 521 F. App'x 717, 720 (11th Cir. 2013). This Court recited the factual allegations in Losey’s complaint against defendant Officer Nail as follows: (1) “that Officer Nail conducted an unofficial count on the night he was raped, walking directly past the cell in which he was being held”; (2) “at the time that Officer Nail was conducting the count, Mr. Whitehead was holding down Mr. Losey and covering his mouth, which Officer Nail would have seen had she looked into the cell”; “that unofficial counts 8 Case: 14-13748 Date Filed: 01/02/2015 Page: 9 of 16 typically involve officers walking cell-to-cell and looking into the window of each cell to check on the status and whereabouts of each inmate”; and (4) “that Officer Nail ‘either looked into the cell and did not care what she saw, or she did not care to look at all[.]’ ” Id. The Court concluded that, “[i]f true, these allegations show that Officer Nail knew of a substantial risk of serious harm to Mr. Losey and failed to intervene to prevent his rape.” Id. The case against Officer Nail was thus remanded to the district court for further proceedings. G. District Court Proceedings on Summary Judgment On May 2, 2014, after the parties conducted discovery, Officer Nail filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. On July 7, 2014, the magistrate judge issued a Report and Recommendation that Officer Nail’s motion be granted. On August 18, 2014, the district court adopted the Report and Recommendation and granted summary judgment to Officer Nail. On August 21, 2014, Losey timely appealed.