United States District Court, D. Maryland
MEMORANDUM OPINION
RICHARD D. BENNETT UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
In the
morning hours of September 30, 2013, Sergeant Kwasi Ramsey
(“Ramsey”), Sergeant Jemiah Green
(“Green”), and Correctional Officer Richard Hanna
(“Hanna”) of the Maryland Department of Public
Safety & Correctional Services (“DPSCS”)
entered Plaintiff Kevin Younger's
(“Plaintiff” or “Younger”) prison
cell in the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic &
Classification Center (“MRDCC”). After evacuating
his cellmate, the officers threw Younger from his top bunk to
the concrete floor, bludgeoned him with handcuffs and other
tools, and slammed his head against a toilet bowl. Ramsey,
Hanna, and Green have been convicted of their
crimes;[1] the acting Warden of MRDCC, Tyrone Crowder
(“Crowder”) has been removed from his
post;[2] and a jury assembled in the Circuit Court
for Baltimore City has found the State of Maryland liable for
Younger's injuries.[3]
In this
action, Younger pursues claims against his assailants
(Defendants Ramsey, Green, and Hanna) and against the
Division of Correction officials whom he contends are
responsible-Warden Crowder, Major Wallace Singletary
(“Singletary”), and Lieutenant Neil Dupree
(“Dupree”). In his Amended Complaint (ECF No.
140), he alleges violations of his rights under the Eighth
and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Crowder, Dupree,
and Singletary (Count One);[4] an identical claim asserted
against Ramsey, Green, and Hanna (Count Two); Excessive
Force, in violation of the Maryland Declaration of Rights,
Article 24, against Ramsey, Green, and Hanna (Count
Three);[5] violations of the Maryland Declaration of
Rights, Article 24, against Crowder, Dupree, and Singletary
(Count Four); Battery against Ramsey, Green, and Hanna (Count
Five); Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress against
Ramsey, Green, and Hanna (Count Six); Conspiracy against
Ramsey, Green, and Hanna (Count Seven); Negligent Retention,
Training, and Supervision against Crowder, Dupree, and
Singletary (Count Eight); Negligence against Crowder, Dupree,
and Singletary (Count Nine).
Now
pending before this Court are a Motion to Dismiss all Claims
in the Amended Complaint Against Defendant Tyrone Crowder
(ECF No. 154); a Motion to Dismiss all Claims in Amended
Complaint Against Defendant Wallace Singletary (ECF No. 155);
and Defendant Dupree's Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 156).
The parties' Motions have been reviewed and no hearing is
necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2018). For
the reasons stated herein, all three Motions (ECF Nos. 154,
155, and 156) are DENIED.
BACKGROUND
In
ruling on the pending motions to dismiss, the factual
allegations in the plaintiff's complaint must be accepted
as true and those facts must be construed in the light most
favorable to the plaintiff. Wikimedia Found. v. Nat'l
Sec. Agency, 857 F.3d 193, 208 (4th Cir. 2017) (citing
SD3, LLC v. Black & Decker (U.S.), Inc., 801
F.3d 412, 422 (4th Cir. 2015)). This Court may also consider
documents attached to a motion to dismiss so long as they are
“integral to the complaint and authentic.”
Thompson v. United States, RDB-15-2181, 2016 WL
2649931, at *2 n.4 (D. Md. May 10, 2016), aff'd
670 Fed.Appx. 781 (4th Cir. 2016) (citation
omitted).[6]
I.
Younger's Assault by Ramsey, Green, and Hanna.
On
September 29, 2013, Younger witnessed a fight between two
inmates and a correctional officer. (Id. ¶ 22.)
During the fight, the correctional officer was seriously
injured. (Id.) Subsequently, the two inmates who
participated in the confrontation were transferred from the
general housing unit and placed in various cells in MRDCC.
(Id. ¶ 24.) Younger and at least two other
prisoners were also transferred from the general housing unit
to other cells. (Id. ¶ 25.) In particular,
Younger was placed in the “5 Dormitory” with
another individual. (Id. ¶ 26.)
On
September 30, 2013 at approximately 6:30 a.m., Officer Hanna
arrived at MRDCC, cleared the security checkpoint, and
climbed the stairs toward the roll call room. (Id.
¶ 27.) Ramsey was waiting at the top of the stairs.
(Id.) When they met, Ramsey informed Hanna that
“they had some business to handle” and that he
“sought to exact revenge on the prisoners he and other
supervisory staff believed to be involved” in the prior
day's altercation. (Id.) These prisoners and
their cell locations were identified on a list in
Ramsey's possession. (Id. ¶ 28.) At some
point, Green joined Hanna and Ramsey and the three officers
proceeded to the armory. (Id.) Inside, Ramsey
obtained handcuffs and a large mace canister. (Id.)
Upon exiting, the armory control officer did not require
Ramsey to sign the logbook as was required. (Id.)
From the armory, Ramsey, Green, and Hanna proceeded to the
elevator to the seventh-floor housing unit. (Id.)
The
three officers then “systematically moved about MRDCC
to each of the five prisoners' cells, brutally assaulting
and beating each of the prisoners, including Mr.
Younger.” (Id. ¶ 29.) Between 6:40 and
7:00 a.m., Ramsey, Green, and Hanna entered Younger's
cell, “grabbing Mr. Younger by his shirt and legs, and
throwing him from the top bunk onto the concrete
floor.” (Id. ¶¶ 30-33.)
“Ramsey, Green, and Hanna proceeded to attack Mr.
Younger, striking him on the head, face, and body, with
handcuffs, radios, and keys, and slamming his head against
the toilet bowl in the cell, ” all the while verbally
abusing him. (Id. ¶ 34.) They also
“kicked and stomped” on Younger as he lay
helpless. (Id. ¶ 35.) As a result of the
beating, “Mr. Younger's cell was covered in blood,
and Mr. Younger was bleeding profusely from his head and
face.” (Id. ¶ 37.)
Younger
did not receive medical treatment immediately following his
assault. Ramsey, Green, and Hanna left him “in a pool
of blood on the concrete floor of his cell, having difficulty
breathing, without medical care or attention.”
(Id. ¶ 38.) After the three officers assaulted
the prisoners on Ramsey's list, they returned to the
second floor and stood outside of the roll call room.
(Id. ¶ 43.) With this positioning, the officers
ensured that they would be able to escort the prisoner
victims to the medical unit. (Id.)
During
roll call that morning, Lieutenant Neil Dupree and Major
Wallace Singletary displayed photographs of the injured
correctional officers and the inmates who they believed were
involved in the altercation on the previous day.
(Id. ¶¶ 49, 50.) Dupree and Singletary
also circulated pictures of the five prisoners who were
removed from the general housing unit following the September
29, 2013 fight-including Younger-and represented that these
prisoners were responsible for the altercation. (Id.
¶¶ 51, 52.)
Between
8:00 and 8:30 a.m., medical alerts began to sound for each of
the five prisoners attacked by Ramsey, Green, and Hanna.
(Id. ¶ 55.) A tier officer eventually
discovered Younger. (Id. ¶ 44.) In the company
of other officers, Green pushed Younger in a wheelchair
toward the medical unit. (Id. ¶¶ 45, 46.)
When Dupree arrived in response to the medial alerts, he
observed correctional officers bringing Younger down the
stairs toward the medical unit and asked Ramsey what had
happened. (Id. ¶ 57.) Ramsey claimed that
Younger had “fell, ” and Dupree allegedly
“accepted this explanation, despite Mr. Younger's
injuries being markedly inconsistent with the asserted
explanation, even to a medically untrained eye.”
(Id. ¶ 58.) Dupree allegedly failed to seek
emergency attention, launch an investigation into
Younger's injuries, or interview Younger and his
cellmate. (Id. ¶¶ 60, 61, 62.) In the
medical unit, Green brought Younger an Incident Report form
and a pen. (Id. ¶ 46.) Green then ordered
Younger “to note that he sustained his injuries by
falling from his bunk bed.” (Id.) After
receiving some medical care that morning, Younger was
returned to his cell by Green and Ramsey. (Id.)
During
the afternoon roll call that day, Warden Crowder chastised
the correctional officers involved in the altercation of
September 29, 2013. (Id. ¶ 53.) He criticized
the officers for being “soft” and told them that
they “should had [sic] beat the inmates” who were
allegedly involved in the fight. (Id.) That evening,
Crowder entered Younger's cell, where he was cowering in
fear underneath of his bunkbed. (Id. ¶ 66.)
Younger told Crowder that he had been beaten and that he had
helped the correctional officer who had been injured on
September 29. (Id. ¶ 68.) During their
discussion, Crowder indicated that prison leadership was
aware that he had assisted the officer and assured Younger
that he would be moved to another cell block. (Id.)
Younger was relocated that evening. (Id.) On October
1, 2013, Younger sought and obtained medical assistance by
advising the chief of security about his attack.
(Id. ¶ 70.)
Although
prison leadership was aware that Younger had assisted the
injured officer on September 29, 2013, Younger nevertheless
faced administrative charges. (Id. ¶ 71.)
During his disciplinary hearing, he was not permitted to call
witnesses or present evidence. (Id. ¶ 72.)
Younger
was physically incapable of presenting a defense during the
hearing because he was still recovering from his injuries.
(Id.) As punishment for the charges, Plaintiff was
sentenced to 120 days (four months) in solitary confinement,
during which time he could not access full medical services.
(Id. ¶¶ 72, 76.) On October 24, 2013,
Plaintiff was criminally charged with second degree assault
for his alleged involvement in the same September 29, 2013
incident. (Id. ¶ 73.) The State later dismissed
these charges. (Id. ¶ 93.)
II.
Widespread, Documented Inmate Abuse at the Maryland
Reception, Diagnostic & Classification Center.
Younger
alleges that his assault took place in the context of civil
rights abuses and “vigilante justice” fostered by
Defendants Crowder, Singletary, and Dupree at MRDCC. (Am.
Compl. ¶¶ 13, 14, 21, ECF No. 140.) This culture
manifested in frequent inmate abuses and disregard for prison
protocol. Officers allegedly utilized a special call code on
their MRDCC radios to signal a “select group of first
responders who would dole out extrajudicial punishment on
prisoners with whom they had an issue.” (Id.
¶ 14.) The officers allegedly did not fear punishment
for their actions, instead “believ[ing] that they could
improperly assault prisoners and then cover up those
incidents with impunity.” (Id. ¶ 21.) The
staff at MRDCC also disregarded annual in-service trainings,
which some supervisory personnel considered “a
joke” and “a waste of . . . time.”
(Id. ¶ 20.)
Younger
alleges that Crowder, Dupree, and Singletary were aware that
Ramsey, Green, and Hanna had been suspected of use-of-force
abuses long before Younger's assault. Younger claims that
Crowder, Dupree, and Singletary knew that Green and Ramsey
had been the subject of “active criminal assault
investigations, and numerous excessive use of force
investigations, some of which were sustained.”
(Id. ¶¶ 96, 97.) He further alleges that
Crowder, Dupree, and Singletary were aware that Hanna had
“been involved in previous use of force complaints and
investigations.” (Id. ¶ 98.)
Crowder,
in particular, allegedly ignored repeated warnings about
Green and Ramsey from MRDCC staff. In September 2012, the
assistant warden at MRDCC notified Crowder “that she
was concerned about seeing the same officers' names,
including Green and Ramsey, appearing in use of force
reports.” (Id. ¶ 17.) When Crowder
attempted to rationalize Green and Ramsey's behavior as
the work of “first responders to fluid situations,
” the assistant warden pressed: she noted that the
officers were “previously suspended for this conduct
and suspensions indicate a real problem.”
(Id.) In May 2013, the investigative captain
approached Crowder and recommended additional use of force
training, noting that Ramsey and Green had repeatedly
appeared in use of force incident reports. (Id.
¶ 18.) When Crowder refused to respond, the
investigative captain conducted impromptu use of force
training for these officers. (Id.) In July 2013, the
investigative captain told Crowder that Green should receive
a disciplinary sanction for his involvement in another use of
force complaint, complaining “that other involved
officers lied to cover for Green and that foreclosed any
ability to discipline Green.” (Id. ¶ 19.)
The
nature of Dupree's job ensured that he was exposed to
information about Ramsey, Green, and Hanna's misconduct.
Dupree was required to prepare a
“Scrutinized/Compromised Staff Report” for DPSCS
headquarters. (Id. ¶ 100.) The report listed
all correctional staff at MRDCC who were under investigation
or were suspected of violating prison policies and protocols.
(Id.) While preparing the report, Dupree would
“synthesize information” concerning staff
misconduct and review a draft with the warden before
finalizing it. (Id.) Younger alleges that the names
of Ramsey, Green, and Hanna were contained in the Report.
(Id.)
Dupree
also personally assisted Ramsey, Green, and Hanna with their
retributory assaults. (Id. ¶ 101.) Dupree
frequently forwarded staff complaints about prisoners to the
trio, who would respond with violence. (Id.) Dupree
was allegedly aware that Ramsey, Green, and Hanna would abuse
inmates after he forwarded them information of this kind and
that the medical staff were complicit in their activities,
but did nothing to stop them. (Id.)
Finally,
Younger alleges that Singletary had knowledge of Ramsey,
Green, and Hanna's misconduct but did not attempt to
prevent it. (Id. ¶ 103.) For example,
Singletary was allegedly present when Ramsey, Green, and
Hanna beat a prisoner who was shackled in a three-point
restraint. (Id.) Singletary also allegedly knew that
Ramsey, Green, and Hanna would leave prisoners in the showers
for hours at a time. (Id.) Although Singletary was
their most senior supervisory, he allegedly failed to report
these incidents. (Id.)
III.
Criminal and Civil Proceedings.
Following
Younger's assault, prison staff were subject to
administrative and criminal investigations. On October 1,
2013, the Intelligence and Investigative Division of the
Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional
Services (“DPSCS”) launched an investigation
following the assault of Younger and other prisoners.
(Id. ¶ 87.) The investigation concluded that on
the morning of September 30, 2013, Ramsey, Green, and Hanna
assaulted five prisoners, including Younger, whom they
believed were involved in the fight on the previous evening.
(Id. ¶ 88.) The investigation also concluded
that Crowder failed to take appropriate steps following the
September 29, 2013 assault and “did not ensure the
safety of the five inmates and . . . failed to instruct staff
to check the welfare of the five named inmates in the
assault.” (Id. ¶ 90.) On October 7, 2013,
the State demoted Crowder and placed him on administrative
leave. (Id. ¶ 91.)
On
September 17, 2014, Ramsey, Green, and Hanna were criminally
indicted for their assault of the five
prisoners.[7] (Id. ¶ 92.) Prior to the
indictments, Younger provided testimony to secure Green,
Ramsey, and Hanna's convictions. (Id. ¶
93.) On May 6, 2015 Hanna pled guilty to conspiracy to commit
first degree assault. (Id. ΒΆ 94.) On April 1,
...