Lieberenz v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of the Saguache

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SARAH LIEBERENZ, Individually and as Personal Representative of THE ESTATE OF JACKSON MAES, deceased, Plaintiff, v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF SAGUACHE, COLORADO, in its official capacity, SAGUACHE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, a governmental entity, DAN WARWICK, SHERIFF OF SAGUACHE COUNTY, in his official capacity, KENNETH WILSON, in his individual capacity, ELKE WELLS, in her individual capacity, MIGUEL MACIAS, in his individual capacity, and SHELBY SHIELDS, in her individual capacity, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 21-cv-00628-NYW-NRN

United States District Court, D. Colorado

February 3, 2023

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Nina Y. Wang United States District Judge

Pending before the Court are four motions. First, the Board of County Commissioners (the “Board”), the Saguache County Sheriff's Office (the “Sheriff's Office”), Sheriff Dan Warwick (“Defendant Warwick” or “Sheriff Warwick”), Kenneth Wilson (“Defendant Wilson”), and Shelby Shields (“Defendant Shields,” and, collectively, the “County Defendants”) filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (“County Defendants' Motion”), [Doc. 102, filed June 30, 2022], on the claims alleged against them. Plaintiff Sarah Lieberenz, in her capacity as personal representative of the Estate of Jackson Maes (“Plaintiff” or “the Estate”)^[1]filed a Response in opposition to the County Defendants' Motion, [Doc. 124 filed August 11, 2022], and the County Defendants followed with a Reply, [Doc. 142, filed August 25, 2022]. Second Defendant Elke Wells (“Defendant Wells”) filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (“Defendant Wells's Motion”), [Doc. 104, filed June 30, 2022]. Plaintiff filed a Response in opposition to Defendant Wells's Motion, [Doc. 113, filed August 4, 2022], and Defendant Wells subsequently filed a Reply, [Doc. 150, filed September 8 2022]. Third, Plaintiff filed a “Motion to Supplement Responses to Motions for Summary Judgment re: Issue of First Impression on Language Improperly Omitted from 42 U.S.C. § 1983” (“Motion to Supplement Responses”). [Doc. 149, filed September 7, 2022]. The County Defendants filed a Response in opposition, [Doc. 159, filed September 28, 2022], and Plaintiff filed a Reply, [Doc. 175, filed October 21, 2022]. Fourth and finally, Plaintiff filed an “Opposed Motion to Strike or Alternatively Motion to File a Surreply” (“Motion to Strike”). [Doc. 169, filed October 14, 2022]. The County Defendants filed a Response, [Doc. 176, filed November 4, 2022], and Plaintiff filed a Reply, [Doc. 182, filed November 11, 2022].

The issues have thus been fully briefed and are ripe for resolution. Upon consideration of the briefing and the entire record, the Court concludes that oral argument will not materially assist in the resolution of the Motions. For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART the County Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, GRANTS Defendant Wells's Motion for Summary Judgment, DENIES Plaintiff's Motion to Supplement Responses, and DENIES Plaintiff's Motion to Strike.

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from the record in this case and are undisputed for the purposes of summary judgment, unless otherwise noted. In addition to those materials cited by the Parties-and consistent with Rule 56(c)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure-the Court considers “other materials in the record” where appropriate. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(3).

A. The Saguache County Jail

The Saguache County Jail (“SCJ”) is a detention facility comprised of four cells and one holding “tank” that is designed to house inmates who have been placed on suicide watch and those who are intoxicated or are displaying behavioral problems. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 2; Doc. 124 at 1]. The SCJ is staffed by two individuals during “normal” hours-one jailer and one dispatcher.^[2][Doc. 102 at ¶ 3; Doc. 124 at 2, ¶ 3]. The dispatcher's responsibilities include “handling phone calls, coordinating responses for road deputies, and entering information into the County's computer-aided dispatch system.” [Doc. 102 at ¶ 4; Doc. 124 at 1]. The jailer's responsibilities include “monitoring the inmates and conducting physical checks of the cells every hour.” [Doc. 102 at ¶ 6; Doc. 124 at 2, ¶ 6]. Occasionally, a single jailer/dispatcher model will be employed on the overnight shift-from midnight to 8:00 a.m.-wherein a single individual acts as both jailer and dispatcher.^[3][Doc. 102 at ¶ 8].

A suicide prevention policy is in force at the SCJ, and requires that potentially suicidal inmates be housed in the “tank,” with nothing but a suicide suit and a mattress. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 37; Doc. 124 at 1]. The policy also requires jailers to conduct ten-minute camera checks and twentyminute in-person checks on suicidal inmates. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 38; Doc. 124 at 1]. Jail employees receive “a mandatory fourteen-week on-the-job training program while working at the Jail, which includes training on potentially suicidal parties.”^[4] [Doc. 102 at ¶ 40].

Since 1995, two other suicides have occurred at the SCJ. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 41; Doc. 124 at 1]. In 2013, another inmate-William Starkey (“Mr. Starkey”)-“committed suicide by hanging his pants and a white sheet over an electrical conduit pipe in Cell Four of the SCJ.” [Doc. 102 at ¶ 42; Doc. 124 at 1]. He had been incarcerated for four months prior to his suicide. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 43; Doc. 124 at 1]. Earlier, in 2008, an inmate named Felix Granados (“Mr. Granados”) committed suicide in Cell One using the privacy curtain. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 44; Doc. 124 at 1]. Prior to his death, Mr. Granados was evaluated by a mental health agency and was cleared for a return to the SCJ. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 45; Doc. 124 at 6, ¶ 45].

B. Arrest and Detention of Mr. Maes

The instant case arises out of the arrest of Mr. Jackson Maes (“Mr. Maes”) on November 16, 2019 by Defendant Wells, a Saguache County Sheriff's Deputy, after receiving a report of an intoxicated individual from a concerned citizen. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 9; Doc. 104 at ¶ 1; Doc. 113 at 1, ¶ 1; Doc. 124 at 1]. Defendant Wells located Mr. Maes outside the Ute Theater in the Town of Saguache. [Doc. 104 at ¶¶ 3, 6; Doc. 113 at 1-2, ¶¶ 3, 6]. He was losing his balance and smelled strongly of alcohol. [Doc. 104 at ¶ 7; Doc. 113 at 2, ¶ 7]. His arrest was predicated upon a warrant for a failure to appear on a traffic offense. [Doc. 104 at ¶ 11; Doc. 113 at ¶ 11]. Defendant Wells subsequently transported Mr. Maes to the SCJ. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 14; Doc. 124 at 1].

On the evening of November 16, 2019, Defendant Shields was working as the dispatcher on duty at the SCJ. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 10; Doc. 124 at 1]. At the time, she had been employed by Saguache County for two months. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 11; Doc. 124 at 1]. Defendant Miguel Macias (“Defendant Macias”) was on duty as the jailer on the evening of Mr. Maes's arrest.^[5][Doc. 102 at ¶ 12; Doc. 124 at 1]. Defendant Wilson was also present at the SCJ on the evening of November 16, 2019, at least in part, in an effort to fix the dispatcher's broken radio console. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 13; Doc. 124 at 3, ¶ 13].

Upon Mr. Maes's arrival at the SCJ, Defendant Shields observed that he appeared intoxicated and high. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 14; Doc. 124 at 1]. He was placed in Cell One, which was empty, because the “tank” was occupied by an inmate with behavioral problems. [Doc. 102 at ¶¶ 16-17; Doc. 124 at 1]. But for the other inmate, Mr. Maes would have been placed in the tank. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 16; Doc. 124 at 1]. Defendants Wells, Wilson, and Macias assisted Mr. Maes into his jail uniform, and placed him into Cell One. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 18; Doc. 124 at 4, ¶ 18].

Around twelve minutes after he was placed in Cell One, Mr. Maes “began making loud noises by banging into a metal wall in the cell.” [Doc. 102 at ¶ 19; Doc. 124 at 1]. Defendants Wilson and Macias re-entered the area around the cell, with Defendant Wells following. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 21; Doc. 124 at 1]. Defendant Wells advised Mr. Maes to lie down and “get some rest.”

[Id.]. In response, Mr. Maes said “I'm trying to kill myself right now.” [Doc. 102 at ¶ 22; Doc. 124 at 4, ¶ 22]. Defendant Wilson replied by asking “You're trying to kill yourself right now?” [Doc. 102 at ¶ 23; Doc. 124 at 4, ¶ 23]. Receiving no response, Defendant Wilson subsequently left the area around Cell One. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 25; Doc. 124 at 4, ¶ 25].

Defendant Shields remained at the dispatcher station during these events. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 26; Doc. 124 at ¶ 26]. At some point, she placed a call to an outside vendor to obtain care for Mr. Maes; she does not recall the impetus for doing so, or whether she attempted “to contact mental health or the detox facility used by the Jail.”^[6][Doc. 102 at ¶¶ 29-30; Doc. 124 at 5, ¶¶ 29-30]. Because her radio was not functioning, Defendant Shields recalled the evening being “hectic.” [Doc. 102 at ¶ 31; Doc. 124 at 1]. In addition to doing “everything manually,” she was engaged in a conversation with Defendant Wells about protocols for road deputies. [Doc. 102 at ¶¶ 31-32; Doc. 124 at 1].

Meanwhile Defendant Macias engaged in several conversations with Mr. Maes. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 33; Doc. 124 at 1]. The two “discussed how to bond out of jail, whether [Mr. Maes] could obtain food (which [Defendant] Macias provided), and whether he could make calls the following day.” [Id.]. Fourteen minutes after the end of their conversation-at approximately 10:22 p.m.- Mr. Maes committed suicide using the privacy curtain in his cell. [Doc. 102 at ¶ 34; Doc. 124 at 5, ¶ 34]. The independent coroner who examined Mr. Maes following his death concluded that he died “within approximately three minutes.”^[7][Doc. 102 at ¶ 35]. Around one hour and thirty-eight minutes after Mr. Maes's death-at midnight-Defendants Macias and...