Opinion ID: 1198869
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sims's Deposition

Text: Defendants proceeded to depose Sims. Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Nicola N. Grey, representing the defendants, questioned Sims, representing himself. Q. Can you please describe for me what happened to you on December 20th, 1999? A. Yes. I was coming back into the special housing unit at Sing Sing from the hospital, and Officers Blot, Carabello [ sic ], White, and McDonough were standing around the strip frisk area waiting for me to come in. When I got in I had a few words with Officer Blot which basically stem from prior confrontation I had with him a week earlier. While I was standing there waiting to get processed back in the guy from [the Inspector General's office] came in and I tried to stop him to speak to him, let him know that I had a feeling that this was about ready to get a little bit out of hand, and I wanted him to stick around. He said that he couldn't stop at that particular moment, but he would come see me a little later on. (Deposition of Nathaniel Sims, December 28, 2000 (Sims Dep.), at 15.) Sims stated that he began removing items of clothing as instructed by Blot, and while I was taking my pants off he hit me. Q. Then what happened after that? A. Rushed me, grabbed me, bear hug, threw me to the floor, and the rest of the officers commenced to helping [ sic ] him out here. In the process of that Q. What do you mean by helping him out? A. Helping him to physically assault me. In the process of that, Officer Carabello [ sic ] yelled out to me: You hit an officer! I'll kill your effen' behind. Okay. So while they was punching on me and everything I seen him swing down, I moved my head and he cut me [with a knife].... Eventually they put handcuffs and shackles on me and rushed me down to the ER. ( Id. at 16.) Sims testified that he was returned to the special housing unit (SHU) on the night of the incident; but on the next day, he was moved back to the hospital and placed in the psychiatric satellite unit (PSU). ( See id. at 18.) Sims stated that he was not on PSU status at that time but was kept in the PSU for several weeks thereafter for security reasons. ( Id. ) The AAG questioned Sims about his PSU status: Q. Okay. I want to direct you to your complaint. It states in your complaint that you were being returned from PSU, mental health unit, prior to the incident? A. Yes. Q. Did you have PSU status at that time? A. At that time I did, yes. Q. So on 12/20/99 prior to A. Prior to that. Q.prior to returning to the SHU you had A. I was admitted on the PSU. Q. How long were you in PSU? A. From the 13th, 12/13 tono, 12/13/99. Pardon me. Q. And why were you admitted to the PSU? A. They thought I was kind [of] bugging. What happened was I punched the plexiglas and broke it, and cut my hand. This is basically what started all this. Officer Blot and Officer Carabello [ sic ] had just beaten up on a crazy inmate and I spoke up. That's basically what happened. And because of that it escalated tofirst they was talking about coming to my cell, and I was like: All right! Fine! We can do that. And I had a pen, and I had a cup of liquid detergent and they was saying that I was threatening to throw it on them, this crazy nonsense. But that's what started all this. That's where the week earlier came from where we had the words. .... ... What they end up doing was moving me and putting me behind glass. And I felt that there was no need to be placed behind glass because I hadn't thrown anything, hadn't threatened to throw anything, so I broke the glass. .... Q. And after you broke the glass what happened? A. Well, because I end up cutting myself with the glass they felt that I was really, really out of it. They sent me upstairs to PSU to calm down, basically. And I ended up staying up there for about a week. I came back that Monday which was [December] 20th. I believe that was the Monday. Q. Okay. So, prior to getting escorted to SHU they took you off of PSU status. A. Right. (Sims Dep. 24-28.) One of those sued by Sims in his original complaint was Lorraine Del Santo, a psychiatric nurse. Asked why he had made her a defendant, Sims responded that although Del Santo was not present at the December 20 incident, she had been included because Sims had told her prior to the incident that he had been threatened by two of these officers on a regular basis. ( Id. at 30.) The AAG questioned Sims about that conversation: Q. How did you make your complaint to Del Santo, the nurse? A. She got to be the mental health therapist that made rounds at SHU. And being that I see inmates from MHU [Mental Health Unit], I see them on a regular basis from a lot of stress and things of that nature, I explained to her during her rounds and a few times when I've gone upstairs to PHU [ sic ] I explained to her I had to get away from down there because I stand by ready to lose it. They keep constantly threatening me, and I'm not going to sit back and let them do it to me first, so before it happens I think I haveneed a break. Put me up here from downstairs, let things calm down. On one occasion I told her that these guys was threatening me. Her response was: Well, you must have done something to them. Okay. Q. How many times did you complain to her? A. I complained to her more than five times. How many exactly, I can't recall. But I know it was definitely more than five times. (Sims Dep. 32-33.) Sims stated that he complained to Del Santo that the threatened assaults were stressing [him] out ( id. at 62), but that nothing was ever done about those complaints. The AAG asked: Q. Well, what did you expect Del Santo to do? A. Like I said, that's my therapist, and being that I constantly complain to her she could go to the Superintendent and explain to them: Listen, you know, the guy's one of our patients. You know, he's down there in your area. Do something about this before it gets out of hand. You know, she has my whole folder right there. She knows how I can get. Why allow it to escalate to that? Q. Did you ask her to talk to the superintendent? A. I asked her to speak to a few people. I said: Talk to whoever you've got to talk to to get them to stop bothering me, or get me out of here. .... Q. How could she get you out of there? A. Like I said, put meyou know, they doing the same thing here now, mental health may go to the deputy of security, or go to the Superintendent. Listen, it would be beneficial to get Sims out of here. He's wearing his welcome out, or something. Anything! She could sit there, you know, like for his state of mind it would be beneficial to get him out of here. Q. So she would have had to put you on PSU status? A. No, she wouldn't have to put me on PSU status, but being my therapist she could makebasically speak for me. (Sims Dep. 62-64.) As to the injuries claimed by Sims, the AAG questioned him as follows: Q. Did you receive any injuries? A. Yeah. Q. And what injuries did you receive? A. That laceration for one, swelling of my back, had to get five sutures tosteri-strips to close that up. ( Id. at 52.) After Sims described having the blood washed out of his eye, from the laceration above it, and stated that he had been given pain medication for his back, the AAG inquired as to any further injuries and received a negative response: Q. And besides these injuries did you receive any other injuries? A. No. ( Id. at 53.) After exploring Sims's filing of a grievance and an administrative complaint about the December 20 incident, the AAG returned to the subject of injury: Q. Besides the physical injuries did you suffer any mental injuries as a result of this incident? A. I wouldn't say I suffered mental injuries as a result of this, but I do think about it continuously. Q. Any emotional effects? A. In fact, I dream about it. Q. Any emotional or psychological injuries as a result of this? A. Emotionally, yes. Q. What are those injuries? A. I have to sit here, and every time I see a knife in one of the officer's hands I have to actually restrain myself from reacting because I don't know if they'll be allowed to do this again. And it has an emotional toll on me. As I say, I had dreams about this. I'm just not used to being on the receiving end of it. I mean, I've spent almost twenty years of my life in prison and never been cut by a prisoner or anyone, and I've got to be cut by an officer. That doesn't sit too well with me. Q. Are you receiving any treatment for your emotional injuries? A. Not pertaining to this particular incident, no. (Sims Dep. 55-56.) In September 2001, the court granted summary judgment dismissing the complaint against Del Santo and two other defendants to whom, Sims testified, he had complained but who were not present at the December 20 incident.