Opinion ID: 567270
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: County's Culpability

Text: 115 Even assuming Redman introduced sufficient evidence that jail officials acted pursuant to relevant County policies, the evidence falls far short of establishing that these policies were applied with deliberate indifference to Redman's right to personal security. 116 The policies identified by the majority focus on the placement of Clark in the general population and the assignment of Redman to Clark's cell. The subsequent call from Mrs. Pearson, the mother of Redman's girlfriend, and the nature of the investigation by Deputy Green in response to the call are not relevant to these asserted policies. Deputy Green's investigation may have been negligent, or perhaps more than negligent, but the majority makes no attempt to label Deputy Green a policymaker or to attribute his investigation to a County policy. 117 The only evidence relied on by the majority to reach its conclusion that the County acted with deliberate indifference by placing Clark in the general population and by assigning Redman to Clark's cell is Clark's coercion of passive homosexuals while he was in the homosexual module. The evidence shows, however, that Clark did not misbehave while he was in the jail's general population before he was transferred to the homosexual module or while he was in a low-security housing dorm after his transfer from the homosexual module. See Reporter's Transcript, Vol. II, at 189-90. Contrary to the majority's assumption, it was Clark who was at risk of being victimized in the general population by heterosexual inmates. While in the general population, the heterosexual inmates teased and sexually harassed Clark. Id. at 189. Clark's parole officer requested Clark's transfer to the homosexual unit because Clark had been the victim of harassment in the general population. Id. The evidence also shows that no sexual assaults had occurred at SBDF prior to the assault in this case. Reporter's Transcript, Vols. I & II, at 113, 117, 211. Further, there is no evidence that a homosexual who coerces passive homosexuals presents a threat to heterosexuals. This is simply an assumption inherent in the majority opinion without any support whatsoever in the evidence. 118 The majority also fails to consider the countervailing interests involved in placing an inmate such as Clark. Had officials not moved Clark out of the homosexual module, we would likely be addressing a section 1983 claim by an inmate victim assigned to the passive homosexual module. But the jail officials did move Clark. They moved him back into the general population where he had been the victim of harassment, but had never threatened a heterosexual. This involved a risk to Clark. It is not beyond peradventure that if Clark had been attacked, we would now be addressing a section 1983 claim by him. The point is that the placement of inmates within a jail is not an easy task and involves a number of competing concerns. Prison officials at the SBDF made a reasoned judgment where and with whom to house Clark based on information available to them. There is no evidence that the officials' choice was unreasonable, much less deliberately indifferent. Given these circumstances, this court should not substitute its asserted omniscience for the reasoned choices made by the jail officials.