Cooper v. Vinson

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedMarch 26, 2021
Docket5:17-cv-00010
StatusUnknown

This text of Cooper v. Vinson (Cooper v. Vinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cooper v. Vinson, (W.D. Ky. 2021).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY PADUCAH DIVISION CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:17-CV-10-TBR

MICHAEL COOPER, PLAINTIFF

V.

CHRIS VINSON, et al., DEFENDANTS

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on his Eighth Amendment claim against Nathaniel Deboe, [DN 108]. Defendant Deboe, who is proceeding pro se, did not respond to Plaintiff’s Motion and the time for filing a response has expired. Deboe has appeared pro se throughout this litigation and remains so to date. This matter is now ripe for adjudication. For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, [DN 108], is GRANTED. BACKGROUND Plaintiff is an inmate currently incarcerated at Kentucky State Penitentiary. From January 2017 to February 2018, Plaintiff filed a Complaint [DN 1] and multiple Amended Complaints [DN 6, 27, 49]. In his initial Complaint, Plaintiff initiated a pro se 42 U.S.C. § 1983 prisoner civil rights action. [DN 1]. Now, Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim against Defendant Nathaniel Deboe is the only unresolved claim remaining in this case. All other claims have been dismissed. Previously, the Court denied Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment on this Eighth Amendment excessive force claim as moot. [DN 109]. Subsequently, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Reconsider the denial of his motion, [DN 111]. The Court granted Plaintiff’s request and clarified that reconsideration shall be limited to Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim against Nathaniel Deboe because all other claims were properly disposed of via summary judgment. As such, the Court will reconsider Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on his Eighth Amendment claim, [DN 108], below. Plaintiff Michael Cooper comes before the Court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Cooper, a prisoner at Kentucky State Penitentiary (“KSP”), claims that former KSP correctional officer Nathaniel Deboe violated his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual

punishment during an altercation on July 13, 2017 when Deboe physically assaulted Cooper by punching him in the ribcage while Cooper was wearing restraints. [DN 108 at 3; DN 90 at 2; DN 27-1 at 8]. In his Answer, Defendant Deboe admits to the assault and states that he was convicted of Assault in the Fourth Degree as a result. [DN 90]. According to the complaint, on July 13, 2017, Defendant Nathaniel Deboe was instructed to escort Plaintiff back to his cell from the recreation yard. Plaintiff was told that he was being taken back to his cell early “for threatening staff with frivolous lawsuits and causing a disturbance.” [DN 27-1 at 7]. Plaintiff alleges that his wrist and ankle restraints were extremely tight, that Deboe gripped his restraints and raised his arms “high above his head forcing him to

bend over to walk” hurting his shoulders and causing lacerations on his wrists. Plaintiff states that he “verbally yelled out, ‘I’m not resisting’” multiple times. [Id. at 8; DN 108 at 2]. When Plaintiff made it to his cell, he was “forcefully slammed into the brick wall face first” until his cell door was opened. [DN 27-1 at 7-8]. Once the door opened, Deboe “forced” Plaintiff inside using the wrist restraints and “slammed Plaintiff into the corner of the cell.” [Id. at 9]. Both men fell to the ground, causing Plaintiff to hit his head on the toilet in his cell. [Id; DN 108 at 3]. Deboe then pulled Plaintiff to his feet and pinned Plaintiff against the wall so the other officers could remove his property from his cell. [DN 27-1 at 9]. While Plaintiff was still restrained and pinned against the wall, Deboe proceeded to punch Plaintiff in his left ribcage with a closed fist. [Id; DN 108 at 3; DN 90 at 2 (Deboe’s Answer to Plaintiff’s Complaint)]. Attached to Plaintiff’s complaint is an affidavit from a fellow inmate, Kareem Edwards, who witnessed this altercation between Plaintiff and Deboe on July 13, 2017. In his affidavit, Edwards attests to the following facts under penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C § 1746: I heard Michael Cooper telling [officer] Nathaniel Deboe, Lt. Jessee Coombs, and Sgt. Brendan Inglish he was not resisting. Michael Cooper stated this several times over a span of time as I stood inside my cell #15 13L and witnessed Nathaniel Deboe twisting and bending Michael Cooper’s arm forcibly trying to break it without justification. Once removed from the 13L wall, I kept hearing Michael Cooper say ‘I am not resisting’ repeatedly, as I heard something or someone being slammed and crammed into the floor and walls. I continued to hear Michael Cooper calmly say ‘I am not resisting’ several times, with interjections of [Cooper] asking the three individuals, ‘why are you all doing this to me?’ Then I heard Michael Cooper yell ‘why did you punch me in my side?’. . . [DN 27-2 at 7]. The day of the incident, the Kentucky State Police were notified of the altercation and initiated an investigation. Additionally, on July 15, Plaintiff filed a formal grievance with the Department of Corrections outlining his allegations of criminal conduct against Nathaniel Deboe for the assault on July 13, 2017. [DN 99-8]. Plaintiff has exhausted his administrative remedies regarding his Eighth Amendment claim against Nathaniel Deboe. The Warden issued a memorandum on August 2, 2017, stating that in addition to the Kentucky State Police investigation, the incident was also being investigated by the Office of Internal Affairs and findings were presented to the Lyon County Attorney and the Lyon County Commonwealth Attorney. [Id.] [DN 27-2 at 3]. As a result of this incident, Nathaniel Deboe resigned from his position as a KSP correctional officer, pled guilty, and was convicted of Assault in the Fourth Degree. [DN 99-1 at 3; DN 90 at 2]. At the time Deboe filed his Answer to Plaintiff’s complaint in 2018, he was serving his second year of probation. [Id.] In his Answer, Deboe admits to restraining Plaintiff, pinning him against his cell wall, and “in a moment of anger, I did in fact punch Inmate Cooper in the ribs one time with a closed fist.” [DN 90 at 2]. The occurrence of the assault is not in dispute. Now, Plaintiff seeks to recover monetary and punitive damages against Deboe for utilizing excessive force in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate when the record, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, reveals “that there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A genuine dispute of material fact exists where “there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249 (1986). The Court “may not make credibility determinations nor weigh the evidence when determining whether an issue of fact remains for trial.” Laster v. City of Kalamazoo, 746 F.3d 714, 726 (6th Cir. 2014) (citing Logan v. Denny’s, Inc., 259 F.3d 558, 566 (6th Cir. 2001); Althers v. Schebil, 188 F.3d 365, 369 (6th Cir. 1999)). “The ultimate question is ‘whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to

require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.’” Back v. Nestle USA, Inc., 694 F.3d 571, 575 (6th Cir. 2012) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251–52).

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Cooper v. Vinson, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cooper-v-vinson-kywd-2021.