United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fayetteville Division
REV. TOM BROWN PLAINTIFF
v.
SHERIFF TIM HELDER, Washington County, Arkansas; OFFICER SMITH #564; OFFICER PARADES #553; OFFICER HOLIDAY # 472; OFFICER WELCHEL CW02; NURSE REGINA WALKER; DR. ROBERT KARAS; PA VERONICA DOCKERY; NURSE ANDREW PIAZZA; NURSE PHEBE GROTHAUS; ADMINISTRATOR JANE BURLESON, KARAS URGENT CARE; and BRIAN THOMAS, City of Fayetteville, Prosecutor's Office DEFENDANTS
OPINION AND ORDER
TIMOTHY L. BROOKS UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Plaintiff
Reverend Tom Brown filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983. He proceeds pro se and in forma
pauperis. Plaintiff was directed to file an amended
complaint on July 26, 2019. See Doc. 52. His
"First Corrected Amended Complaint" (Doc. 59) was
filed on August 19, 2019.
Under
the IFP statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915, the Court is
obligated to screen the case prior to service of process
being issued. The Court must dismiss a complaint, or any
portion of it, if it contains claims that: (1) are frivolous,
malicious, or fail to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted; or, (2) seek monetary relief from a defendant who is
immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (e)(2)(B).
I.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff
was arrested on October 17, 2016, and booked into the
Washington County Detention Center ("WCDC"). He
remained incarcerated there until October 19, 2016, when he
was released. At the time of incarceration, Plaintiff was
sixty-nine years old.
He
asserts three claims stemming from this incarceration: (1) he
was subjected to unconstitutional conditions of confinement;
and (2) he was denied adequate care for his serious medical
needs.[1]
While at the WCDC, Plaintiff contends he:
was held in torture for some 30 hours, admitted to jail
population without access to needed medications, denied
writing instruments and paper to make any record of events
and personalities involved in the events, [and] denied access
to any communication thru the jails computer Kiosk telephone
system
(Doc. 59 at 3).
Plaintiff
states he was unable to submit a grievance because an inmate
using the kiosk system must start by entering the
identification number contained on his arm band. As his
glasses were taken away from him, Plaintiff maintains he
could not read his arm band. In any event, when both inmates
and jailers assisted him by entering his identification
number, the number did not work. The jailer reported this;
however, Plaintiff claims he was not able to access the kiosk
at all during his incarceration at the WCDC.
On
October 17, 2016, Officer T. Smith was the intake officer and
the one who took Plaintiff's personal clothing away.
Plaintiff alleges Officer Smith "threaten[ed] to keep
him in the intake cell for 72 hours if Plaintiff refused to
answer his questions." Plaintiff believes Officer Smith
deliberately put him in the cold cell "for the purpose
of torturing Plaintiff in compliance with Smith's
orders."
Plaintiff
maintains that Officer Smith failed to list on the property
intake sheet all of the identification cards carried by
Plaintiff, including a VA hospital identification card.
According to Plaintiff, Officer Smith's actions show he
was "a willing and able member of a conspiracy to deny
rights to those arrested and placed in his custody and
care." Plaintiff also states Officer Smith failed to
contact the "VA hospital to determine Plaintiffs medical
needs" and failed to contact jail medical staff.
Plaintiff
was placed in an intake cell and remained there until
sometime in the afternoon of October 18, 2016, when he was
moved to general population. Plaintiff alleges he was placed
in the intake cell because he "refused to verbally
answer questions from the intake officer." Plaintiff
asserts that the temperature in the intake cell was
maintained at less than 50 degrees. Plaintiffs contends that
his requests for his personal clothing in order to stay warm
were refused as were his request for blankets.
Plaintiff
indicates he had been treated for elevated PSA[2] levels in urine,
difficulty and pain on urination, urine retention, and other
symptoms of prostate cancer. Plaintiff told Officer Smith
that he had been searched by the arresting officer who had
Plaintiffs "medical identification." Further,
Plaintiff states he advised the intake officer that "the
[Veteran's Administration ("VA")] would supply
his needed medications upon demand by the jail ...