Pemberton v. Leavenworth County Jail

District Court, D. Kansas·Decided October 8, 2021·No. 5:21-cv-03152·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

PHILLIP PEMBERTON,

Plaintiff,

vs. Case No. 21-3152-SAC

(FNU) DEDEKE, et al.,

Defendants.

O R D E R Plaintiff, pro se, has filed this action alleging violations of his constitutional rights in relation to his incarceration at the Leavenworth County Jail (LCJ). Plaintiff brings this case pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.1 This case is before the court for the purposes of screening plaintiff’s second amended complaint (Doc. No. 12) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The court applies the screening standards set forth in the first screening order. See Doc. No. 11. I. The second amended complaint Plaintiff generally alleges violations of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and malpractice. He names the following defendants: (FNU) Dedeke, Sheriff of Leavenworth County, Kansas;

1 Title 42 United States Code Section 1983 provides a cause of action against “[e]very person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State . . . causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States . . . to the deprivation of by rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws [of the United States].” Melissa (LNU), at nurse at LCJ; an “arresting officer”; and Lt. Thorne, commander of LCJ. Plaintiff describes defendant Dedeke as controlling the jail. He describes defendant Thorne as commanding the jail and enforcing jail policies and procedures. He describes defendant Melissa (LNU) as being in charge of medical care and

policies at LCJ. Plaintiff alleges that in early April 2021 he was arrested and, because he complained of medical problems, was taken by ambulance to an emergency room where he was treated intravenously with medications, vitamins and fluids for alcohol withdrawal. Plaintiff believes the emergency room doctor prescribed him Librium, although he was not allowed to see the paperwork. Plaintiff was taken to LCJ, booked, and placed in a medical observation sell for the night. Plaintiff felt sick the next morning and thought delirium was setting in because he could not walk straight. He left the medical observation cell but was told to return to it. He continued to feel sick and sleep throughout

the day until he was awakened and reassigned to a cell in booking. He asked about his meds and was told to wait. Later, he was moved to a pod cell with six other inmates. He was still feeling bad, sweating and delirious. At the time for passing out medicine, plaintiff was told that there was no medicine ordered for him. Plaintiff sent a request for medicine. He was told that he had refused his medication, although plaintiff insists it was never offered. Plaintiff continued to feel quite sick and was told by inmates that he looked ill. He claims that he had a seizure in the cell that scared his cellmate. Plaintiff states that he was continuously sick for eight to ten weeks from April 2021 to June 2021. He generally describes

fever, sweating, and shaking in his sleep. He asserts that every two to three weeks he had an attack but was denied treatment. Plaintiff also claims pain in his side, back and stomach. He claims that he has had issues with loose stools which caused him to need new pants in July and that his right side is quite painful to the touch and bloated. He alleges, however, that defendant Melissa (LNU) has refused to treat him on many occasions even though he is charged $15 from his inmate account for each visit. Plaintiff further claims that LCJ did nothing to protect him from COVID-19. He asserts that new inmates were not quarantined, not required to wear a mask, and not given a vaccination. Plaintiff tested positive on August 6, 2021, although he did not

learn the result until August 20, 2021. His pod was locked down for 17 days. Plaintiff claims he reported on August 14th that he had breathing problems, terrible headaches and nerve pains. A nurse named Brandy told plaintiff he had tested positive. She further advised him that he should order ibuprofen or Tylenol from the commissary and that his trouble breathing was from anxiety from being locked down as a COVID precaution. He further asserts that he has anxiety which is untreated. He claims that his mental health problems are sometimes debilitating, but there are no programs at LCJ for treatment. Finally, plaintiff alleges that he was beaten badly by another inmate and given a concussion and other injuries in September or

October of 2020. He claims his injuries exacerbated previous injuries from a car accident. Plaintiff asserts that he has had spastic moments, confusion, memory loss, and, worst of all, head pain since the fight. He alleges that he was prescribed ibuprofen by a nurse who plaintiff does not identify by name. Plaintiff seeks monetary damages and an investigation by an outside agency. II. The court shall not order an investigation by an outside agency. The court does not believe it has the authority to order an investigation of LCJ by a non-party outside agency. See Nicholas v. Heffner, 228 Fed.Appx. 139, 141 (3rd Cir. 2007)(court lacks

authority to order federal investigation and prosecution of defendants or termination of employment); Mashak v. Minnesota, 2012 WL 928225 *25 (D.Minn. 1/25/2012)(no authority to compel executive agency investigation); Lovoi v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 679 F.Supp.2d 12, 14 (D.D.C. 2010)(court lacks authority to compel a Department of Justice investigation). Therefore, the court rejects plaintiff’s request for an outside agency investigation of the jail. III. Plaintiff’s constitutional claims Plaintiff’s constitutional claims concern the denial of medical care while he was incarcerated at LCJ in 2020 and 2021.2

Whether plaintiff was a pretrial detainee during this period and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment or serving a sentence and protected by the Eighth Amendment, the constitutional standard is the same. Strain v. Regalado, 977 F.3d 984, 989 (10th Cir. 2020). That standard is deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. Id. A. Standards The Tenth Circuit recounted the standards for stating a claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs in Strain, 977 F.3d at 989-90: To state a cognizable claim, Plaintiff “must allege acts or omissions sufficiently harmful to evidence deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.” McBride v. Deer, 240 F.3d 1287, 1289 (10th Cir. 2001) (quoting Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106, 97 S.Ct. 285 (1976)). This standard includes both an objective component and a subjective component. Clark v. Colbert, 895 F.3d 1258, 1267 (10th Cir. 2018). To establish the objective component, “the alleged deprivation must be ‘sufficiently serious’ to constitute a deprivation of constitutional dimension.” Self v. Crum, 439 F.3d 1227, 1230 (10th Cir. 2006) (quoting Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834, 114 S.Ct. 1970, 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994)). “A medical need is [objectively] serious if it is one

2 Plaintiff briefly refers to the confiscation of his “legal work,” most of which was later returned. He does not link this action, however, to a named defendant.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Pemberton v. Leavenworth County Jail, (D. Kan. 2021).

Pemberton v. Leavenworth County Jail (Pemberton v. Leavenworth County Jail) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Estelle v. Gamble
429 U.S. 97 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Dodds v. Richardson
614 F.3d 1185 (Tenth Circuit, 2010)
McBride v. Deer
240 F.3d 1287 (Tenth Circuit, 2001)
Mata v. Saiz
427 F.3d 745 (Tenth Circuit, 2005)
Self v. Oliva
439 F.3d 1227 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
Arocho v. S. Nafzinger
367 F. App'x 942 (Tenth Circuit, 2010)
Gee v. Pacheco
627 F.3d 1178 (Tenth Circuit, 2010)
Henry v. Storey
658 F.3d 1235 (Tenth Circuit, 2011)
Allen v. Reynolds
475 F. App'x 280 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
Pahls v. Thomas
718 F.3d 1210 (Tenth Circuit, 2013)
Farmer v. Brennan
511 U.S. 825 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Hayes v. Snyder
546 F.3d 516 (Seventh Circuit, 2008)
Lovoi v. U.S. Department of Justice
679 F. Supp. 2d 12 (District of Columbia, 2010)
Estate of Marvin L. Booker v. Gomez
745 F.3d 405 (Tenth Circuit, 2014)
Phillips v. Tiona
508 F. App'x 737 (Tenth Circuit, 2013)
Tennyson v. Raemisch
638 F. App'x 685 (Tenth Circuit, 2015)
Cary v. Hickenlooper
674 F. App'x 777 (Tenth Circuit, 2016)
Clark v. Colbert
895 F.3d 1258 (Tenth Circuit, 2018)