Trotman v. Doe

DAVID MICHAEL TROTMAN, JR., Plaintiff, v. JOHN DOE, Southampton Town Police Detective; STEVEN KESSNER, ESQ., Legal Aid;CHRISTOPHER GIOE, ESQ., ATB; PROSECUTORS, Handling Plaintiff's Case;ALLEN RILEY, Chairman NYS Commission on Corrections; THOMAS LOUGHREN, Commissioner ofNYS Commission of Corrections; ANTHONY ANNUCCI, Commissioner of Corrections and Community Supervision;ERROL TOULON, JR., Current Sheriff of SCCF; VINCENT DeMARCO, Former Sheriff of SCFF;NUMEROUS SECURITY WORKERS INSIDE SCCF; MEDICAL/MENTAL HEALTH STAFF INSIDE SCCF;DR. TROIANO, SCCF; SGT. DIXON, SCCF; NUMEROUS SUPERVISORS INSIDE SCCF;INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATORS THAT HANDLE MATTERS INSIDE SCCF, Defendants.

CV 18-7469 (GRB)(LB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

August 27, 2020

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

GARY R. BROWN, United States District Judge:

Pro se plaintiff David Michael Trotman, Jr., currently incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility of Fallsburg, New York, filed an amended complaint describing a series of events relating to his arrest and subsequent incarceration at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility ("SCCF"). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the Court dismisses several of plaintiff's claims for the reasons set forth below.

BACKGROUND

Pro se plaintiff commenced this action by filing a complaint and an in forma pauperis application on December 21, 2018. Compl. DE 1; IFP Application, DE 2. The Clerk of the Court notified plaintiff of a deficiency with the in forma pauperis application on January 4, 2019. DE 3. Plaintiff renewed his in forma pauperis application on January 17, 2019. DE 7. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on July 3, 2019. Am. Compl., DE 11. On January 23, 2020, Judge Matsumoto granted plaintiff's in forma pauperis application, but also ordered that a summons will not issue pending the Court's review of the amended complaint pursuant to § 1915. Order dated Jan. 23, 2020. The case was then randomly reassigned to the undersigned.

The amended complaint arises from a interview of the plaintiff on August 2017 by a detective identified as "John Doe Detective" ("Doe"), the conditions of confinement of plaintiff's first period of incarceration at SCCF from October 11, 2017 to December 8, 2017, the conduct of the defense attorneys and prosecutors in his underlying criminal case, and the conditions of confinement from plaintiff's second period of incarceration in SCCF from December 15, 2017 to November 1, 2018. See generally Am. Compl., DE 11.¹

1. August 2017

In August 2017, while plaintiff was hospitalized at Stony Brook Hospital, he was interviewed by defendant Detective John Doe employed by the Southampton Police Department. Id. at 6. Plaintiff declined to give a statement to defendant Doe because he was "incapacitated and could not remember due to poly-substance dependence disorder . . . ." Id.

2. First Period of Incarceration from October 11, 2017 to December 8, 2017

Plaintiff was first incarcerated at SCCF from October 11, 2017 to December 8, 2017. Id. at 8. Plaintiff alleges that on October 11, 2017, defendant "Dr. Troiano stole/misplaced Stony Brook medical records for a femur fracture." Id. Plaintiff also alleges that upon arrival at SCCF, "racial profiling homosexual corrections officers called [him] 'broken arrow' . . . ." Id.

At SCCF, "[t]he plaintiff drew a great deal of attention to himself by calling openly gay and 'closet homosexuals' mooks & bozos out loud and directly to their faces. Referring to inmates housed on 3 East South." Id. However, "[t]he plaintiff always addressed John Doe Officers in a respectful manner." Plaintiff contends that that "calling people 'pink poodles' or other things without using any profane language isnt [sic] reason for the plaintiff to forfiet [sic] or to excuse any named defendant in this civil complaint." Id.

Plaintiff challenges the conduct of several defendant John Doe corrections officers, who he claims are "racist homosexuals." Id. at 8-9. Several days before October 24, 2017, plaintiff alleges a John Doe officer stated to plaintiff that "he could not pull a cup out of his rectum." Id. at 9. On October 24, 2017, plaintiff was relocated to 4 Southwest Cell 4, where the sink was "full of vomit," and "a half hour later" plaintiff was moved to Cell 5, and "the sink in Cell Five was full of rotten food and no running water." Id.

On November 16, 2017, while plaintiff was in 4 Southeast, "the inmate in Cell three named Wright splashed urine and water in my cell. When the plaintiff told staff about what occurred, they played dumb or acted like they were blind." Id. The next day, an "inmate worker spit on plaintiffs [sic] tray and handed the spit on the tray to the plaintiff (a gang member named Ruiz)." Id. On November 18, 2017, "inmate Wright (also a gang member) punched the plaintiff in the face and spit in the plaintiffs [sic] face." Id. On November 23, 2017, "inmate workernamed Burgess did not feed the plaintiff but Jane Doe Supervisor removed the plaintiff for assaultive behavior "splashing." Id. at 9-10. On December 1, 2017, "the plaintiff met with Internal Affairs after over ten attempts to contact them." Id. at 10.

3. Conduct of Defense Attorneys and Prosecutors

In January 2018, plaintiff was indicted on what he claims was based upon a "forged or bogus signature that the John Doe Detective falsely produced." Id. at 6. Plaintiff alleges that on January 16, 2018, he handed his defense attorney Steven Kessner paperwork to investigate an incident that occurred at the Southampton Hospital on January 2016. Id. Plaintiff seeks to sue defendant Kessner because the paperwork was "misplaced or stolen," and "crucial evidence was enclosed in that envelope." Id.

From January 2018 to June 2018, Legal Aid attorney Jeremy Mis represented plaintiff. Id. Plaintiff alleges in conclusory fashion that defendant Mis "was not working in the plaintiffs [sic] favor and was working to aid the prosecution like several other public defenders in Suffolk County who are currently under investigation." Id. The allegations are based upon conversations plaintiff had with defendant Mis where "plaintiff met with Jeremy Mis inside S.C.C.F. and the plaintiff noticed language that confirmed conspiracy between this individual and the prosecution." Id.

Plaintiff then "fired" defendant Mis. Id. at 7. Thereafter, defense attorney Christopher Gide was assigned to plaintiff's case. Id. at 6-7. Plaintiff alleges as follows:

On August 22^nd 2018 at court, the plaintiff asked Christopher Gide to raise a 330.50 defense and Christopher Gide replied by saying [verbatim], "What is a 330.50." The plaintiff then realized that Christopher Gide was not working in the plaintiffs [sic] best defense. Christopher Gide is a former district attorney that is aware of the law in every scope. On that same day, Christopher Gide also lied to the plaintiff to accept a plea bargain of course to aid the prosecutors.

Id. at 7.²

Plaintiff also seeks to sue a Jane Doe Prosecutor who misrepresented that plaintiff was a "prior felony offender," because, plaintiff alleges, he had only two prior misdemeanor convictions. Id.

4. Second Period of incarceration in SCCF from December 15, 2017 to November 1, 2018

Plaintiff also challenges the conditions of confinement during his second period of incarceration at SCCF from December 15, 2017 to November 1, 2018. Id. Plaintiff intends to prove that during this time period, he was removed to the Behavioral Modification Housing Unit ("BMHU")³ because "these security people are either conspiring against him or just being cruel intentionally because of his success as a rap artist." Id.

As plaintiff describes, on "Sunday May 6^th 2018 inmate Brown threw urine and did not pass the plaintiff his breakfast. A openly gay 'John Doe' correctional officer played along with Inmate Brown and threatened the plaintiff with disciplinary infractions after being attacked, not fed and splashed with urine. Later that same day the plaintiff requested to be relocated immediately for safety issues. Supervisors did not remove the plaintiff or the inmate that was throwing urine." Id. at 11.

On May 16, 17, or 18, 2018, plaintiff received poor responses from Internal Affairs, which serves as "proof that Internal Affairs works to cover up security workers [sic] misconduct." Id.

On May 25, 2018, plaintiff spoke with a John Doe corrections officer "about transsexual pornography and beliefs of Caucasians having homosexual origins," and which officer plaintiff alleges "has a sick obsession with the plaintiff." Id. at 10. Plaintiff then alleges that "on the morning of September 21, 2018 during a body search after the plaintiff left a secure area, 'John Doe' officer placed hands on plaintiffs [sic] butt and butt crack area as if trying to put her⁴ fingers in the plaintiffs butt." Id.

Plaintiff asserts that on June 1, 2018, plaintiff was "playing" with another inmate Trinidad where plaintiff and that inmate were throwing food at each other. Id. at 11. Plaintiff was subsequently moved to another cell, and plaintiff "intends to prove that this was all done on purpose. Security people along with inmate Trinidad conspired to hurt the plaintiff in any way possible." Id.

On June 3, 2018, plaintiff contends that inmate Trinidad "threw a cup of unknown liquid (either urine or sperm mixed with other liquids) at the plaintiff and did not feed the plaintiff." Id. Plaintiff was then relocated to the BMHU. Id. Plaintiff claims that because he was moved to the BMHU through no fault of his own proves "the plaintiff has been/was targeted for several reasons." Id.

On August 18, 2018 at BMHU, plaintiff alleges that corrections officers allowed "homosexual inmate name Lois Garcia . . . to throw a Styrofoam cup with sperm at my cell and in my cell." Id. at 13. Plaintiff intends to prove that "homosexual corrupt officers allowed this inmate to violate his constitutional rights because of his Indian heritage or overall success in the...