PAUL CLEVELAND THOMPSON, JR. v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Gregory, Dec. 18, 2017,
8th Amendment – Excessive Force – Intentionally using the momentum of a transport vehicle to maliciously cause an unsecured inmate to strike the sides of the interior can support an Eighth Amendment violation where the prisoner suffers even a minor injury
Facts (according to the lawsuit):
Thompson was an inmate in Virginia. During 2010, he was being transported to court when he alleges two correctional officers gave him a “rough ride” in a transport van.
Thompson was being transported to court and was secured with handcuffs, leg irons, a belly chain, and a black box to prevent tampering. There was a seatbelt in the van, but Thompson was left unseatbelted. Thompson claimed that he requested to be seatbelted, but that the transporting COs refused.
According to Thompson, they drove for 90 minutes without incident. When the COs were notified that Thompson was not needed at court, they turned around. At that point, Thompson alleged that the CO driving began exceeding the speed limit and driving erratically, causing Thompson to slam against the walls of the van.
The COs claimed that they did not drive inappropriately and that Thompson was “yelling, shouting profanities, and banging his head on the metal mesh.” They contacted their supervisor who put the call on speaker phone where Thompson could be heard screaming in the background, yelling “I am going to tell them you beat me up.”
Thompson was treated for a 3/4 inch cut on his forehead and sanctioned for giving false information related to his “rough ride.”
Thompson then filed suit, alleging violation of his constitutional rights.
The district court granted summary judgment to the COs.
Thompson then appealed, arguing that the case should not have been dismissed and that he was entitled to a trial.
Held:
The Fourth Circuit agreed that Thompson’s claims about the rough ride, if true, supported a violation of the constitution and that a judge or jury would have to hear evidence to decide if the claims were true. However, Thompson was not entitled to a trial regarding his sanction for making a false statement.
8th Amendment – The Eighth Amendment protects prisoners from “unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain.”
8th Amendment – Eighth Amendment violations can be classified as either deliberate indifference or excessive force.
8th Amendment – Deliberate Indifference – Failures to safeguard an inmate’s health and safety. (1) the prisoner must be exposed to “a substantial risk of serious harm,” and (2) the prison official must know of and disregard that substantial risk to the inmate’s health or safety
8th Amendment – Excessive Force – In excessive force cases, courts must determine “whether force was applied in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline, or maliciously and sadistically to cause harm.”
8th Amendment – Excessive Force – Even a minor injury can support an excessive force claim if suffered as a result of excessive force
From the Case: The 1/2″-3/4″ cut on Thompson’s forehead was enough to satisfy an 8th Amendment claim if suffered as a result of excessive force
8th Amendment – Excessive Force – Deciding whether force was “excessive” involves balancing:
(1) the need for the application of force;
(2) the relationship between the need and the amount of force that was used;
(3) the extent of any reasonably perceived threat that the application of force was intended to quell; and
(4) any efforts made to temper the severity of a forceful response
8th Amendment – Failure to provide an inmate with a seatbelt, standing alone, is not an Eighth Amendment violation
8th Amendment – Using the momentum of a vehicle to cause an unsecured inmate to strike the sides of the interior can support an Eighth Amendment violation
8th Amendment – Deliberate Indifference – A prison official is deliberately indifferent if the official is present at the time of an assault and fails to intervene or otherwise act to end the assualt
8th Amendment – Deliberate Indifference – This applies as well to a CO present during a “rough ride”