[PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FILED
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
MAY 31, 2006
No. 05-13065 THOMAS K. KAHN
CLERK
________________________
D. C. Docket No. 01-00799-CV-J-32-HTS
MARIO VALDES,
individually, and as personal representative of
the estate of Joy Francis ‘Frank’ Valdes,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JAMES CROSBY,
in his individual capacity,
Defendant-Appellant,
TIM GIEBEIG, et al.,
Defendants.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
_________________________
(May 31, 2006)
Before TJOFLAT, BARKETT and GOODWIN *, Circuit Judges.
BARKETT, Circuit Judge:
This is an interlocutory appeal by James V. Crosby, former warden of
Florida State Prison (“FSP”),1 from the denial of his motion for summary judgment
based on qualified immunity. Mario Valdes sued Crosby and several other FSP
employees, alleging, inter alia, that they violated the Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendment rights of his son, Frank Valdes (“Valdes”), by subjecting him to an
excessive and unjustified use of force, which led to his death while he was
incarcerated at FSP.2
While Crosby was the warden of FSP, Valdes was a death row inmate
housed on X-wing, where inmates with the most serious disciplinary problems
were assigned. Valdes had been transferred to FSP after killing a guard at another
Florida correctional institution. On July 17, 1999, Valdes died after having
suffered extensive beating wounds all over his body. The second amended
complaint alleged that prison guards beat Valdes to death, and that Crosby knew
*
Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin, United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, sitting
by designation.
1
FSP is a Florida state maximum security facility.
2
Mario Valdes filed suit in his own name and that of his son’s estate. This appeal
involves only the question of whether the district court erred in denying Crosby’s motion for
summary judgment based on qualified immunity.
2
about the general propensity for violence against inmates at FSP, especially by
certain corrections officers, some of whom were involved in the beating of Valdes,
but that Crosby was deliberately indifferent to the risk of abuse. Crosby moved for
summary judgment on the grounds that he was entitled to qualified immunity. The
district court denied the motion, and Crosby now appeals.
STANDARD OF REVIEW AND INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL
While the general rule is that a denial of summary judgment is not ordinarily
subject to immediate appellate review because it is not an appealable final
judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, “[a] district court’s order denying a defense of
qualified immunity is an appealable final decision within the meaning of 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291 to the extent that it turns on a question of law.” Cook v. Gwinnet County
Sch. Dist., 414 F. 3d 1313, 1315 (11th Cir. 2005) (quoting McMillian v. Johnson,
88 F.3d 1554, 1562 (11th Cir. 1996)) (emphasis added). We may review an
interlocutory appeal “so long as the core qualified immunity issue is raised on
appeal, a final, collateral order is being appealed, and the appellate court has
jurisdiction to hear the case, including challenges to the district court’s
determination that genuine issues of fact exist as to what conduct the defendant
engaged in.” McMillian, 88 F.3d at 1563.
3
For the purposes of an interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified
immunity, we accept the district court’s factual determinations and recite those
facts as set forth in the district court’s order, supplementing them where necessary
with additional evidentiary findings of our own from the record. See Rayburn ex
rel. Rayburn v. Hogue, 241 F.3d 1341, 1342 (11th Cir. 2001) (citing Cottrell v.
Caldwell, 85 F.3d 1480, 1486 (11th Cir. 1996); Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304,
319, 115 S. Ct. 2151 (1995) (“[T]he court of appeals can simply take, as given, the
facts that the district court assumed when it denied summary judgment.”)). Where
we supplement the record, we construe the facts and draw all inferences in the light
most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Evans v. Stephens, 407 F.3d 1272,
1278 (11th Cir. 2005).
DISCUSSION
As we have often stated, “[q]ualified immunity offers complete protection
for government officials sued in their individual capacities as long as their conduct
violates no clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a
reasonable person would have known.” Lee v. Ferraro, 284 F.3d 1188, 1193-94
(11th Cir. 2002) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). In order to
receive the protection of qualified immunity, the government official must first
4
prove that he was acting within the scope of his discretionary authority when the
allegedly wrongful acts occurred. Kesinger v. Herrington, 381 F.3d 1243, 1248
(11th Cir. 2004) (citing Vinyard v. Wilson, 311 F.3d 1340, 1346 (11th Cir.
2002)).3
Once eligibility for qualified immunity is established, the burden shifts to
the plaintiff to show that qualified immunity is not appropriate. Lee, 284 F.3d at
1194. This step consists of a two-part inquiry, set forth in Saucier v. Katz, 533
U.S. 194 (2001). First, we ask, “do the facts alleged show the government
official’s conduct violated a constitutional right?” Id. at 201. If a constitutional
violation is established, based on the facts in the light most favorable to the
plaintiff, we then must determine whether such conduct would have violated
federal law that was clearly established at the time of the incident. Garrett v.
Athens-Clarke County, 378 F.3d 1274, 1278-79 (11th Cir. 2004) (citing Saucier,
533 U.S. at 201-02).
I. Violation of a Constitutional Right
We first address the question of whether Crosby violated Valdes’ Eighth
Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. “The Constitution
3
There is no question in this case that Crosby was acting within the scope of in his
discretionary authority as warden of FSP.
5
does not mandate comfortable prisons, but neither does it permit inhumane ones,
and it is now settled that the treatment a prisoner receives in prison and the
conditions under which he is confined are subject to scrutiny under the Eighth
Amendment.” Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832 (1994) (citations and
quotation marks omitted). “In its prohibition of ‘cruel and unusual punishments,’
the Eighth Amendment places restraints on prison officials, who may not, for
example, use excessive physical force against prisoners.” Id. “Being violently
assaulted in prison is simply not part of the penalty that criminal offenders pay for
their offenses against society.” Id. at 833 (citations and quotation marks omitted).
We have held that supervisors can be held liable for subordinates’ use of
excessive force against inmates in violation of the Eighth Amendment on the basis
of supervisory liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Miller v. King, 384 F. 3d 1248,
1261 (11th Cir. 2004). Supervisory liability under § 1983 occurs “when the
supervisor personally participates in the alleged constitutional violation or when
there is a causal connection between the actions of the supervising official and the
alleged constitutional deprivation.” Id. We agree with the district court that there
is insufficient evidence that Crosby personally participated in the beating of
Valdes, or that any guards were following specific direction from Crosby in using
excessive force against Valdes. Thus, the question presented is whether there was
6
a causal connection between Crosby’s actions or inaction and the beating and death
of Valdes.
A causal connection may be established when: 1) a “history of widespread
abuse” puts the responsible supervisor on notice of the need to correct the alleged
deprivation, and he or she fails to do so; 2) a supervisor’s custom or policy results
in deliberate indifference to constitutional rights; or 3) facts support an inference
that the supervisor directed subordinates to act unlawfully or knew that
subordinates would act unlawfully and failed to stop them from doing so. Cottone
v. Jenne, 326 F. 3d 1352, 1360 (11th Cir. 2003).4
Therefore, we begin our analysis by addressing whether the district court
erred in concluding that sufficient facts were presented to support liability against
Crosby through a causal connection between his actions and the alleged
constitutional deprivation committed by Crosby’s subordinates.
A.
The facts, construed in the light most favorable to Valdes, the nonmoving
party, are as follows. Corrections Officer Raymon Hanson testified that on July
17, 1999, he was told to assist in the cell extraction of Frank Valdes, whom he
4
The district court ruled that there was a causal connection based on: 1) a “history of
widespread abuse”; and 2) a supervisor’s custom or policy. Valdes v. Crosby, 390 F. Supp. 2d
1084, 1102-03 (M.D. Fla. 2005).
7
knew was on death row for killing a guard at another facility during an escape
attempt. Hanson testified that while he was preparing for the extraction, Sergeant
Griffis told Captain Timothy Thornton that “Valdes has had this coming to him.”
Based on his past experience participating in cell extractions, Hanson took this
statement to mean that the officers “were going to go down there and teach
[Valdes] that he can’t be threatening officers and he has to comply with the rules,
that being on disciplinary confinement wasn’t enough, that some physical
punishment was going to have to be inflicted on him.”
When Valdes’ cell door was opened, Hanson, one of the first to enter,
noticed Valdes was standing in the center of the cell holding a towel to his face and
only wearing boxer shorts. Valdes then curled up on the floor in a fetal position,
with his hands covering his face and head. Valdes was not resisting or acting
aggressively, and no weapons were visible in his cell. Hanson testified that when
he moved to put his shield on the cell bunk, the other officers began punching,
striking and kicking Valdes, who remained on the ground, not resisting. Valdes
was turned onto his stomach and Hanson then stood on Valdes’ legs to prevent
Valdes from kicking anyone while the other officers continued punching him.
Hanson left the cell because he was having difficulty breathing due to gas fumes
that were released in the cell.
8
After getting a towel to wipe his face, Hanson returned to the cell where he
saw Sergeant Brown violently kicking Valdes in the midsection, while saying to
Valdes, “[w]ho you gonna kill now, [expletive]?” Valdes was moved to the
doorway where Sergeant Brown put his boot to Valdes’ face. Captain Thornton
then directed Valdes to stand up and when he did not, Thornton put a hand-held
electronic restraint device to Valdes’ forehead and released the trigger, shocking
Valdes with an electric charge. Valdes, who was handcuffed by this point, was
then dragged out of the cell and placed on the ground. When he refused to stand,
Thornton slapped him across the face. Officers then put Valdes on a cart and
wheeled him to the medical clinic.
One of the defendant nurses, Denise McEachern, told investigators that she
observed Valdes slumped forward with blood on his face. Hanson testified that
after McEachern left, Griffis punched Valdes in the mid-section. McEachern
stated that she may have also seen Thornton slap Valdes at some point as she
passed the room. Another defendant nurse, Jimmie Burger, testified that Valdes
seemed alert, oriented and responsive and suffering from only minor injuries
typical of those sustained during a cell extraction, including an abrasion on his lip,
a recent bloody nose, some discoloration to his right shoulder and three circular red
marks down his left side, which Burger believed were marks indicating use of an
9
electronic shield. Burger testified that Valdes’ vital signs were normal. Burger
also testified that when he momentarily left the room, he heard a loud noise that
sounded like a slap, but he was not sure the sound came from the room where
Valdes was located.
Citing several examples of inmates who had been seriously injured in the
past, Burger stated that he knew that officers sometimes subjected an inmate to
minor injuries during a use of force and later, after a medical exam confirmed the
minor injuries, the officers would take the inmate back to his cell “and beat him
half to death.” Burger stated that he had a “negative feeling” about the manner in
which officers were treating Valdes. However, Burger determined that there was
not a basis to call a doctor or to keep Valdes in the medical department.
Once Valdes was released from the medical department, Hanson
accompanied officers who pushed Valdes in a wheelchair back to an empty cell on
X-wing. Hanson testified that shortly thereafter the officers involved in the cell
extraction sought to justify their actions by completing their use of force forms
based on medical reports and false information. Hanson testified that the injuries
he observed on Valdes included a small amount of blood coming out of his mouth
or nose and some abrasions to his chest or shoulder area. Hanson further testified
that officer Sauls reported that Valdes had a boot print on his neck which Sauls
10
said he had inflicted while restraining Valdes. Hanson stated that Valdes was not
having difficulty breathing and Hanson did not think Valdes’ injuries were very
significant.
Nurse McEachern testified that she was called later that day by Thornton,
who told her Valdes had sustained a facial laceration during a fall from his bunk.
Thornton advised McEachern that Valdes’ injuries were not serious. Shortly
thereafter, Officer Beck reported that Valdes again fell off his bunk, and was
“lying on the floor looking like he wasn’t breathing,” and medical attention was
necessary. When the nurses arrived, Valdes was in cardiac arrest. Rescue units
arrived shortly thereafter and took Valdes to a hospital, where he was pronounced
dead at 4:18 p.m.5
While, officers reported to McEachern that Valdes had injured himself by
repeatedly throwing himself off his bunk onto the concrete floor, Mario Valdes
presented evidence that his son’s death was due to a massive physical beating. The
medical examiner’s autopsy of the following day revealed:
[m]ultiple blunt traumatic injuries including contusions, abrasions and
lacerations of face and scalp, fracture of mandible; patterned and
unpatterned abrasions and contusions on anterior and posterior trunk,
5
Mario Valdes alleges that a few months after Valdes was killed McEachern agreed to be
wiretapped. In a conversation with Burger, McEachern and Burger discussed past incidents of
officers abusing inmates, including those incidents involving a Henry Donaldson, David Skrtich,
Mark DeFreist, and Milton Belk.
11
multiple serial rib fractures of right and left halves of ribcage, fracture
of sternum, right and left hemothoraces, and subcutaneous
emphysema extending from lower face to scrotum; lacerations and
hemorrhage of gut mesenteries and liver capsule; hemorrhage within
and around right adrenal gland; abrasions of right and left legs from
knee to ankle level and linear abrasions on right and left wrists.
The medical examiner found these injuries to be fresh, having occurred within five
to ten minutes of Valdes’ death. The probable cause of death was listed as
“beating.” Moreover, when corrections guard Hanson viewed photographs of
Valdes taken at the time of his death, he thought that Valdes’ condition in the
photographs was significantly different from his condition following the cell
extraction.
Based on these facts, we have no difficulty ruling that Mario Valdes has
sufficiently stated a claim that guards at FSP committed a constitutional violation
and thus, we turn to the issue of whether Crosby can be held liable as a supervisor.
B.
Construed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, the facts
pertaining to whether Crosby was put on notice by a history of widespread abuse at
FSP, or whether he had established customs or policies resulting in deliberate
indifference to a prisoner’s constitutional rights, reflect the following. Crosby was
12
preceded as warden of FSP by Ron McAndrew.6 Warden McAndrew testified that
when Crosby succeeded him as FSP warden, the two had several phone
conversations, as Crosby declined McAndrew’s invitation to meet in person. In
those conversations, McAndrew specifically warned Crosby about certain guards,
who McAndrew believed were abusive toward inmates and needed to be kept out
of high profile areas, such as X-wing, because “[t]hey were out of hand and
[McAndrew] was afraid they would kill an inmate.” McAndrew also taped a list of
these guards to the center drawer of the warden’s desk.
One of the guards that McAndrew testified he specifically warned Crosby
about was Timothy Thornton, one of the defendant officers in this case accused of
beating Valdes to death. When McAndrew left FSP in February 1998, Timothy
Thornton (along with Griffis, another defendant guard in this case) had recently
been one of the guards involved when a prisoner was extracted from his cell in
X-wing and beaten so severely that the prisoner had to be “airlifted by helicopter to
a hospital, where he remained for nine days and was treated for extensive injuries
and spent several months recuperating.” Skrtich v. Thornton, 280 F.3d 1295, 1300
(11th Cir. 2002). The inmate’s injuries from that incident included “(1) left chest
6
McAndrew testified that he had over twenty years of experience as an officer, sergeant,
lieutenant, investigatory, deputy warden, and warden of another Florida state facility before
becoming warden of FSP.
13
trauma with multiple fractures to the left ribs and left hemopneumothorax, (2) back
injury with fractured multiple transverse processes, (3) right scalp laceration, (4)
left shoulder and right knee injury, (5) abdominal trauma, and (6) post trauma
anemia” Id. The inmate’s chest “revealed the presence of an extensive amount of
injuries with multiple abrasions and contusions and several markings of shoes on
his back and left chest,” which markings a doctor found “were probably made from
a stomping motion as opposed to merely holding [the inmate] down,” “consistent
with physical abuse.” Id. (Internal quotation marks omitted).7
McAndrew further testified that he moved Thornton off of X-wing and away
from areas where he thought Thornton would have opportunities to abuse inmates.
McAndrew testified that shortly after he became warden he wanted to terminate
Thornton. McAndrew described Thornton as “an extremely dangerous person. . . .
[T]his guy's a walking hand grenade . . . and the pin’s pulled.” McAndrew
specifically told Crosby “this guy is dangerous. . . . You need to get him off the
payroll.” However, McAndrew only reprimanded Thornton based in part on the
advice of two of his subordinates, who advised McAndrew that Crosby (who at the
time was the state corrections department Director of Security and Institutional
Management), had called them to intervene on Thornton’s behalf to ask that he be
7
In Skrtich, we held that several of the officer defendants in this action were not entitled
to qualified immunity for the alleged beating of Skrtich. Skrtich, 280 F.3d 1295.
14
given every possible consideration. Deputy Warden A.D. Thornton, no relation to
Timothy Thornton, similarly testified that both he and McAndrew had concerns
about Timothy Thornton. Notwithstanding McAndrew’s briefing on Thornton,
after Crosby became the FSP warden, Timothy Thornton was promoted to Captain,
was permitted to work on X-wing, and was personally selected by Crosby to
receive preferential staff housing. In his deposition, McAndrew summarized
Crosby’s approach to Thornton as “[Crosby was] told he has a potential killer on
his hands and he promotes the guy from lieutenant to captain.”
McAndrew further testified that he asked Crosby to sit with him for a “desk
audit” to review all issues and problems McAndrew was passing on to Crosby. He
wanted to have the “desk audit” with Crosby because FSP “had a notorious
reputation for the beating of inmates” and McAndrew was attempting to address
the problem. Crosby, however, said he did not have time or was not interested in
meeting for the “desk audit.”
A.D. Thornton also testified that Crosby was instrumental in bringing
Montrez Lucas to FSP from another correctional institution where he had worked
with Crosby. Lucas, who is also named as a defendant in this suit for allegedly
participating in the beating death of Valdes, had been disciplined before being
brought to FSP by Crosby. Lucas bragged about how he had been suspended for
15
using excessive force against an inmate but had not been terminated for it. In
addition, Lucas was investigated shortly after Valdes’ death for teaching
correctional officer trainees improper practices in June 1999, prior to Valdes’
death. The Department of Corrections investigation report stated that Lucas taught
the following techniques: taking “free shots” at inmates while they were
handcuffed, using chemical agents on inmates without the required notice and even
after inmates became compliant, reviewing medical reports before completing use
of force forms to ensure conformity between the two, instructing trainees about
which areas of the human body could be kicked without leaving bootprints, and
bringing inmates to the medical ward for treatment of minor injuries and then
beating the inmates severely after they had been returned to their cells.
McAndrew stated that while he was warden he hired an “assistant warden
who was aggressively helping fight the excessive use of force in the prison.”
McAndrew specifically hired this assistant warden because he believed the
assistant warden could be trusted and would actively pursue McAndrew’s goals of
reducing inmate abuse. When Crosby became warden, he “transfer[red] her out to
another prison.”
Additionally, evidence was presented that FSP, like most facilities, had
procedures for extracting inmates from their cells when they refused to submit to
16
being restrained by handcuffs and leg irons. On X-wing, cell extractions consisted
of four or five officers using the physical force necessary to restrain and remove an
inmate from his cell. Cell extractions and any other use of force were to be
documented by prison officials. Copies of the use of force forms were forwarded
to the warden.
Prior wardens at FSP required officials to videotape cell extractions.
Warden McAndrew testified that his predecessor at FSP suggested videotaping cell
extractions as a method to cut down on problems during uses of force. McAndrew
testified that FSP had a “notorious reputation” as an institution where guards beat
the inmates, and he continued videotaping because he felt staff were more likely to
act professionally and inmates were less likely to resist the commands of the
guards when they knew they were being videotaped. When Crosby became
warden, however, he discontinued the practice of videotaping cell extractions.
Viewing all facts and inferences in the light most favorable to Valdes, it could be
inferred that Crosby’s action in discontinuing the use of the cameras once he
became Warden, despite knowledge that specific FSP officers were suspected of
unwarranted assaults upon inmates, sent a message to corrections officers that the
administration at FSP was going to permit further abuse of inmates.8
8
In a March 25, 1999, meeting of FSP supervisory personnel allegedly attended by
Crosby, there was a discussion about the frequency with which certain officers were being
17
Reverend Andrew MacRae, an FSP prison chaplain from 1994 until August
1999 testified about the marked difference in the culture at FSP after Crosby
became the warden. MacRae testified that although he never witnessed an inmate
being physically abused during any warden’s administration, Crosby had a more
“hands-off” approach than prior wardens had, thus permitting the “good old boys”
network of guards to mistreat inmates. MacRae testified that after Crosby became
warden, there were occasions when MacRae was prevented from seeing inmates
following uses of force – which previously had been a time that he would often
offer counsel to those inmates. MacRae was also familiar with the practice of
“touching up” an inmate, wherein an inmate would be subjected to minor injuries
during an apparently justifiable use of force and then, following corroboration of
the injuries by the medical facility, the inmate would be returned to X-wing and
beaten. MacRae testified that he believed these instances increased during
Crosby’s tenure because of Crosby’s hands-off approach.
Evidence was also provided regarding the manner in which Crosby handled
abuse of force complaints from inmates. FSP’s procedures relating to prisoners’
abuse of force complaints required inmates to report an accusation on a grievance
form that would then be forwarded to the Inspector General’s central office via an
accused of abusing inmates and what steps might be taken to remedy the situation.
18
on-site prison inspector’s report. The central office would review the reports and
respond to the on-site prison inspector regarding what further action, if any, should
be taken by the inspector. Copies of the inspector’s report to the central office and
copies of the central office’s response would be forwarded to the warden. The
central office also would receive inquiries about prison conditions from persons
outside the prison, such as an inmate’s family or government officials whom an
inmate or his family may have contacted. Copies of the documentation of such
inquiries and directions about what action would be taken were also forwarded to
the warden.
Evidence was submitted that despite having the abuse of force complaints
and use of force forms forwarded to him, Crosby did not read them. Rather,
Crosby delegated the responsibility of handling the complaints to his secretary,
who had no law enforcement background. In his deposition, McAndrew stated that
he had “reasons” to believe that the secretary was obstructing inmate abuse
investigations. McAndrew told Crosby about his concerns relating to the secretary.
Nonetheless, Crosby delegated the responsibility for reviewing and acting on
inmate complaints to the secretary. Nearly all of the inmate-related
correspondence set forth below regarding alleged abuse contained notations of an
“r” next to Crosby’s initials, which Crosby testified indicated that his secretary
19
may have handled the matter without him becoming involved or having specific
knowledge of the complaints or the secretary’s responses.
Included in the numerous complaints and inquiries sent to Crosby between
December 1998 and July 1999 were a reference to an inmate’s complaint that he
was “being maliciously harassed and threatened by staff” who “threatened to kill”
the inmate and that his efforts to remedy the issue at the institutional level had been
“to no avail”; an inmate’s complaint that officers were falsifying disciplinary
reports against him as a means to keep him in close management confinement; a
complaint from an inmate’s spouse stating that FSP staff had locked her husband in
a stripped cell, were depriving him of food and were “threatening to physically
abuse” him; an inmate’s letter “concerning drug dealing and physical abuse by
staff” which also notes that the Department of Corrections agreed to take steps to
ensure that the inmate’s safety would not be jeopardized because of his testimony
as a witness; an inquiry on behalf of an inmate’s family members who were
“concerned about the inmate’s safety since they allege he was beaten by [a sergeant
and] was taken to the hospital for sustained injuries” and had not had contact with
him since; an inmate who wrote “alleging fear for [his] life and wishing to file a
complaint against four officers” he stated were “trying to kill [him]”; a letter from
another inmate who complained of being “harassed and threatened by both staff
20
and other inmates” as a result of his status “as a witness for the State Attorney’s
Office”; an inquiry on behalf of an inmate who feared for his safety at FSP because
he had murdered a corrections officer at another Florida correctional institute more
than 15 years earlier; a letter from a death row inmate to the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement, asking it to investigate his claims that supervisory staff at FSP
failed to investigate allegations that prison officials assigned to death row
permitted a violent inmate to be out of his cell without restraints so that he could
threaten and intimidate other inmates; letters from several different inmates
claiming that corrections officers had threatened to kill them; and a letter on behalf
of an inmate discussing allegedly criminal acts committed by various guards, and
questioning the need for officers to continue to use force against an inmate once he
has already been restrained by handcuffs and shackles.
Valdes also referenced an inmate request form received by Crosby on June
16, 1999 – a month prior to Valdes’ death – which reads, in relevant part:
TO: Superintendent
FROM: Inmate Name: Seburt Connor
Inportant [sic] message to Mr. Warren [sic] James Crosby. The
Superintendent. Please remove Mr. Frank Valdez [sic] from X Wing!
His life can be in danger! I was told by one of the guards! That he is
going to die! But please don’t call my name! Cause my life can be in
danger too!! I have already seen an attemp [sic] on his life! I repeat
don’t say where you get this information! They might try to kill me
too! Please note, these are the mens [sic] that I [have] seen tortureing
[sic] Mr. Frank Valdez [sic][as] follows?
21
Connor’s letter then lists the names of four officers (none of whom are defendants
here) who allegedly kicked Valdes while he was face down with his arms
handcuffed behind his back and a chain around his waist, while they held a wet
towel over his mouth and nose and restrained his feet.
A few days before Valdes died, Crosby received notice of potential inmate
abuse involving another X-wing inmate, Willie Mathews. Mathews had arrived at
FSP on July 4, 1999 along with four other inmates from Hamilton Correctional
Institution following a riot at Hamilton in which several guards were seriously
injured. At FSP, Mathews was placed in isolation on X-wing. On or before July
13, 1999, Crosby was called by Mathews’ mother who reported that she had
received a letter from an officer working at the prison who wrote that her son,
Mathews, was in danger and was being abused by prison guards. The prison
inspector testified that he “had conversations with [Crosby] every day on
everything going on at FSP” and that, therefore, the inspector was “almost
positive” that by July 13, 1999, Crosby was aware of Mathews’ allegations that he
was being attacked on X-wing. The inspector later testified that he was “sure
somewhere between the 13th and the . . . 16th [the day before Valdes was killed]”
of July 1999, he “spoke with [Crosby] . . . concerning the Mathews allegations.”
On July 15, 1999, two days before Valdes died, Mathews filed an emergency
22
grievance stating that he was in fear for his life and was suffering from an
untreated broken jaw following repeated brutal assaults by prison guards on
X-wing. The senior officer present during one of the beatings of Mathews was
Timothy Thornton. Mathews urged authorities to send someone to come get him
and the other inmates who had come from Hamilton “before we are killed.” By
July 16, 1999, the inspector was advised by dental staff that Mathews had a
fractured jaw and the inspector apparently reported this information to the acting
warden, A.D. Thornton. No use of force form was ever filed which might have
explained Mathews’ injury.
Finally, there was evidence that wardens maintain the authority to transfer
an inmate to another prison or to another location within the prison and to reassign
an officer from one area of the prison to another. Moreover, in Florida, wardens
are charged with the duty to supervise, discipline, and enforce all orders, rules and
regulations of the corrections department. Fla. Stat. § 944.14.9 The warden also
has the authority to take measures to attempt to reduce instances of prisoner
9
As stated by the district court:
The parties failed to fully develop the record regarding the extent of the warden’s
authority in implementing these duties and there is some ambiguity in the
evidence as to whether a warden has the authority to terminate a corrections
officer.
Valdes, 390 F. Supp. 2d at 1089 n.6.
23
mistreatment, including increasing training of prison officials, videotaping cell
extractions, and rotating officers.
C.
We find that all of this evidence, when taken together, is more than adequate
to entitle Mario Valdes to proceed to trial and show that inmate abuse at the hands
of guards was not an isolated occurrence, but rather occurred with sufficient
regularity as to demonstrate a history of widespread abuse at FSP. Whether
Crosby actually drew the inference of widespread abuse and was therefore “on
notice of the need to correct or to stop” abuse by officers then becomes a factual
question for the jury. Cottone, 326 F.3d at 1362.
We also agree with the district court that this evidence, again taken together
and in the light most favorable to Valdes, is sufficient to allow a jury to consider
whether Crosby had established customs and policies that resulted in deliberate
indifference to constitutional violations and whether Crosby failed to take
reasonable measures to correct the alleged deprivations. Cottone, 326 F.3d at
1360; see Miller, 384 F.3d at 1263 (finding that plaintiff had created a triable issue
as to whether warden was liable either personally or in his supervisory capacity
based on warden’s knowledge of inmate’s conditions and his failure to exercise
authority as warden to ensure that guards corrected the conditions); Smith v.
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Brenoettsy, 158 F.3d 908, 912-13 (5th Cir. 1998) (dismissing warden’s appeal of
denial of summary judgment in light of factual disputes as to warden’s knowledge
of substantial risk and reasonableness of warden’s response where plaintiff, who
was stabbed by a prison guard, sent letters to warden complaining of verbal abuse
and threats by guard, and warden responded that sheer volume of unsubstantiated
complaints made investigation of every complaint unreasonable).
II. Clearly Established Law
Crosby argues that even if Mario Valdes established a constitutional
violation, he is protected by qualified immunity because while it may have been
clearly established that Valdes’ constitutional rights would be violated if he were
beaten to death by guards using excessive force, it was not clearly established at
the time of Valdes’ death that a warden could face liability under § 1983 predicated
on his failure to take reasonable steps in the face of a history of widespread abuse
or his adoption of custom or policies which result in deliberate indifference. We
disagree. At the time of Valdes’ death in 1999, it was clearly established that a
warden, the person charged with directing the governance, discipline, and policy of
the prison and enforcing its orders, rules, and regulations, would bear such
liability. See, e.g., LaMarca v. Turner, 995 F.2d 1526, 1539 (11th Cir. 1993)
(holding that prison warden could face liability when his failure to take appropriate
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measures to improve prisoner safety created a climate which preordained the
violence which ensued); Fundiller v. City of Cooper City, 777 F.2d 1436, 1443
(11th Cir. 1985) (holding safety director whose responsibilities included
disciplining police officers and setting police department policy could be liable for
failing to take corrective steps in the face of pattern of excessive force engaged in
by officers); see also Skrtich, 280 F.3d at 1303 (stating that by 1998 “precedent
clearly established that government officials may not use gratuitous force against a
prisoner who has been already subdued or, as in this case, incapacitated”); Bruce v.
Wade, 537 F.2d 850, 853 (5th Cir. 1976) (a violation of § 1983 is clearly stated by
the unjustified beating of an inmate at the hands of prison officials).
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, the order of the district court is AFFIRMED.
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