Stewart v. Johnson

CHRISTOPHER BRYAN STEWART, Plaintiff, v. EDWINA JOHNSON, ELIZABETH BOWLES, TOM GRAMIAK, CAPTAIN ADAMS,LT. BURSE, LT. BAGLEY, SGT. PAYNE, and TIFFANY LEE, Defendants.

CV 5:18-037

United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Waycross Division

October 16, 2020

ORDER

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. Dkt. No. 32. The motion is fully briefed, dkt. nos. 42, 54, and with the benefit of a hearing and additional briefing, dkt. nos. 60, 61, is ripe for review. For the reasons below, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Christopher Stewart brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, claiming Defendants failed to protect him from two assaults by other inmates in April 2016. Dkt. No. 1 at 1-2. At the time of the incidents giving rise to this action, Plaintiff was an inmate at Ware State Prison ("WSP") and in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections ("GDC"). Id.

Defendants were employees of GDC and working at WSP at the time of the incidents. Their roles were as follows: Thomas Gramiak, Warden of WSP; Edwina Johnson, Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment; Elizabeth Saenz (also known as Bowles), Grievance Coordinator; Tiffany Lee, Grievance Coordinator; Brian Adams, Captain and Chief of Security; Steve Burse, Lieutenant Corrections Officer; Mark Bagley, Lieutenant; and Mack Payne, Sergeant. Dkt. No. 32-1 ¶ 1.

Plaintiff was assaulted twice while imprisoned at Ware State Prison. See id. ¶¶ 3-6. The first assault occurred on April 20, 2016 in the day room of Dorm A-2. Id. ¶ 3. At that time, Plaintiff was assaulted by an inmate whom he alleges acted on behalf of the Muslims or the Bloods—both known as gangs within the Georgia prison system. Dkt. No. 1 ¶¶ 15, 16, 51. Plaintiff alleges that he injured his right eye, and, as a result, lost central vision in that eye. Id. ¶¶ 52, 56. The second assault occurred on April 25, 2016, in a two-person administrative segregation cell. Dkt. No. 32-1 ¶¶ 5-6. During the incident, Plaintiff was attacked by his cellmate while he was asleep. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 73. As a result, Plaintiff suffered a serious head injury and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Id. ¶¶ 77, 79.

In the weeks leading up to these two attacks, Plaintiff alleges that he put several prison officers and officials on noticeof threats against his safety and life. Id. ¶¶ 15-50. Plaintiff first alleges that, on April 8, 2016, he gave notice of threats made against him the previous day, April 7, to non-party Floor Officer Ruger. Id. ¶ 31b. Plaintiff alleges that he told Officer Ruger what happened both verbally and in writing. Dkt. No. 32-11. Specifically, Plaintiff claims that he told Officer Ruger that on April 7, 2016, he was surrounded and threatened by ten to fifteen Muslim inmates in the A-2 dorm dayroom. Dkt. No. 62-1 ¶ 7a. Plaintiff claims that the threats occurred after he had a verbal altercation with a Muslim inmate regarding use of a contraband cell phone. Id. Following the altercation, Plaintiff claims the leader of the Muslims ordered his fellow Muslims to assault Plaintiff if Plaintiff "said anything smart." Dkt. No. 32-11 at 10. According to Plaintiff, the Muslim leader made specific threats, including, "We'll kill you, cracker." Dkt. No. 62-1 ¶ 7d. Plaintiff contends that the incident was recorded on video surveillance and that he requested the guards pull the video and review it. Id. ¶ 7e. Plaintiff further contends that he requested prison officials remove the Muslim leader from general population or, in the alternative, that Plaintiff be removed from general population, removed from dorm A-2, or transferred to a different prison facility. Id. ¶ 7f.

Plaintiff contends that Officer Ruger, upon notice of these events from Plaintiff, notified Lieutenant Bagley, who instructedOfficer Ruger to call Defendant Payne. Id. ¶ 8d. Plaintiff testified that Officer Ruger did so and that Sergeant Payne came to the dorm hours later but did not review the videotape of the incident. Dkt. No. 32-11 at 19. Plaintiff has never directly interacted with Defendant Bagley or Defendant Payne. Dkt. No. 62-1 ¶ 8d.

Plaintiff next alleges that, on April 13, 2016, he gave notice of threats made against him to nonparty Floor Officer Self by handing her a note that contained all the information above, including the lack of response by Sgt. Payne and Lt. Bagley. Id. ¶ 8. Plaintiff also contends he told Officer Self, through his note, that since the April 7, 2016 incident, Plaintiff had been labeled a "snitch" by other inmates at WSP after "a large number of [them]" read an open control log wherein Officer Ruger recorded Plaintiff's report of the Muslims' threats against him. Id. ¶ 8e. Plaintiff alleges that his note provided Officer Self with notice that, because he had been labeled a snitch, he was now "a target for all gang members at WSP" and he was "specifically being targeted by two gangs, the Muslims and the Bloods." Id. ¶ 8f-g. He further contends that his note conveyed to Officer Self that "the Muslims were making plans for [him] to be stabbed" and that the leader of the Bloods, nicknamed "Big J," had "ordered that [he] be assaulted." Id. ¶ 8h-i. Plaintiff says he identified both the leader of theMuslims and the leader of the Bloods by dorm and room number. Id. Plaintiff claims he notified Officer Self that he "stopped eating breakfast for fear of being stabbed" in the crowd and had "begun taking a weapon—a lock in a sock—to meals because [he] was afraid of being attacked." Id. ¶ 8l. Finally, Plaintiff alleges that his note put Officer Self on notice that on April 13, 2016, as Plaintiff entered the "small yard" for pill call, at least five inmates asked him to come to the "main walk" for a talk; Plaintiff believed those inmates were, in fact, going to attack him because "the windows in the adjoining building [were] full of inmates, suggesting [they] knew [he] was going to be attacked." Id. ¶ 8k.

This second allegation of notice is somewhat inconsistent with Plaintiff's deposition testimony. There, when asked "[w]hat specific notice" Defendant Burse would have received, Plaintiff answered:

On the evening of the thirteenth, Floor Officer Ms. Self, I advised her that some gang members out on the sidewalk wanted me to come out there and talk to them. They was wanting to assault me is what it was. So I went in and told her to notify her lieutenant about my safety. She said she would notify the Lieutenant Burse . . . She notified him and nothing happened.

Dkt. No. 32-11 at 14-15. Plaintiff contends he knows Lieutenant Burse received notice of at least the incident in the main walk because Lieutenant Burse asked him the following morning: "Are you the one that wrote that note last night[?]" Id. at 18. It wasduring this conversation that Lt. Burse allegedly said she would "tell Captain Adams." Id.

Third, Plaintiff alleges that he gave notice of threats made against him to Warden Gramiak, Deputy Warden of Care Johnson, Coordinator Bowles, and Coordinator Lee by filing a grievance on April 14, 2016. Dkt. No. 1 ¶¶ 28, 44. In this April 14, 2016 grievance, Plaintiff stated the following:

(Date of incident 4/7/16)[.] This is an emergency grievance. I have a situation involving a significant threat to my health that requires prompt action. This emergency grievance (involves allegations of physical abuse with significant injury to my person) . . . meet[s] the G.D.C. criteria to be processed as an [emergency grievance]. . .

[This grievance can be resolved by having] the gang leader that ordered the Muslims to attack me . . . removed and extracted from general population in W.S.P., A-2, 21 . . . or . . . place me in a safe dorm, where there is no gang activity . . .

[On April 8] I . . . supplied floor officer Ms. Ruger with a written "notice" about [an event on April 7 namely,] the gang leader of the Muslim's [sic] housed in A-2, 21 (Dorm Rep.) . . . "ordered" the Muslims to "assault" me if I said anything smart. . . He need's [sic] to be extracted from general population in W.S.P., A-2 . . . [Videotape of the incident] would "clearly" show me being surrounded by about 10 to 15 offenders with the person listed in this grievance as leading this disturbance and possible future assault . . .

Later in the day offender Timothy Henry[,] A-2, 12-B[,] approached me and said: "I know what you did." I asked him, ["W]hat do you mean?["] He stated[,] "I read the officer's log book, they left it open and I read it through the window." . . . Now the whole dorm knows that I reported this gang activity against me. This has made my living conditions "extremely" "dangerous!" . . . I am now labeled a "snitch"! This label placed on my personmakes me a "target" to "all" gang members at W.S.P. A source has told me that the "Muslim's" [sic] are making plan's [sic] to have me "wet up," meaning stabbed! . . .

A "new" gang leader of the "Blood's" [sic] known as Big "J" has been placed in . . . dorm A-2, 14. The [same] source informed [me] that Big "J" stated that: "If his new cell phone get's taken from him because of me, that he will have me "smashed . . . because I'm a snitch." This assault is to take place when I'm placed into another dorm, or if the Muslims leader get's extracted from A-2 because of me. Then at that time, I will be attacked! . . . I . . . will stop attending breakfast . . . for . . . fear of getting stabbed . . .

[The W.S.P. guards have] allow[ed] the general population at W.S.P. to know that I "snitched" on them. This may get me killed!!! . . .

This all started over a dispute about using one of the Muslim's cell phones. The Pakastani [sic], Muslim offender who lives in W.S.P. A-2, 7-B has a cell phone. He only pull's [sic] it out when [certain] officers are not working. The Muslims [and] Bloods know I known their business about their cell phones. So when [and] if you take them[,] know that they will want

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