Qualified Immunity May Be Available For Case Of Police Brutality

Estate of Ford v. Ramirez 2002 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9704

Jeffrey Ford was an inmate at the psychiatric unit of the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California. His cellmate was James Diesso. These two men had been cellmates on previous occasions without incident, but Diesso had previously stabbed another inmate. In addition, Diesso was considered to be a "Category J" prisoner - sufficiently mentally ill to not be housed with the general population, but generally medication compliant. Diesso had been previously characterized as extremely violent and dangerous as far back as 1995 and had been involved in a number of attacks on guards and inmates between 1993 and 1997. These and other incidents led to a correctional officer adding an "S" sub-classification to Diesso's records on June 6, 1998, indicating he should not be double celled with any other inmates.

By June 9, 1998, Diesso had been scheduled for a transfer to a special handling unit at Corcoran State Prison reserved for extremely dangerous inmates. On June 23, 1998, Diesso appeared before prison officials for a 30 day review, and it was determined that he should stay at Vacaville pending his transfer and that he was permitted to be double-celled with another inmate.

Although Diesso was involved in another altercation with another inmate on June 27, Jeffery Ford was transferred to Diesso's cell on June 27. On June 29, Diesso attacked and killed Ford. Reports indicated the walls of the cell were covered with bloody hand prints and smears and the words "die demon" were written in blood on the wall.

The Estate of Ford alleged a number of causes of action against prison officials that were ultimately dismissed, leaving the claim that Associate Warden Edward Caden, Correctional Lieutenant Eric Arnold, and Correctional Sergeant Robert Williams violated Ford's right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Each of the defendants moved for summary judgment on qualified immunity. The district court ruled that genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether Caden knew about Diesso's history of violent and bizarre behavior. The court also held that Arnold had not shown either that he investigated whether Ford and Diesso should have been celled together, or that he believed his subordinates had done so. The court also found that Williams had not shown the absence of an issue of fact as to whether he was deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of...