Griggs v. Holt

2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182592 (2018, October 24, 2018)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ps are all inmates or former inmates at the Augusta State Medical Prison (ASMP). Ps allege that each was the subject of an excessive force assault by correctional officers in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. A typical event can be described as follows: Ps were standing in a medication line when Ds (6 officers) entered the hallway and began shouting epithets and when Varner (P) verbally responded an officer grabbed Varner (P) and attempted to handcuff him and Varner struck the officer. The officers all ganged up on Varner (P) and placed him in a chokehold until unconsciousness. Varner (P) was left bleeding in a small vestibule and when he regained consciousness, the officers continued to punch, kick, and stomp Varner (P) while he was handcuffed on the floor. They took Varner (P) to an elevator and rode it up and down four times while beating him. An officer used pepper spray on him and one employed a metal baton to beat him. They took Varner (P) to the medical unit where a nurse pleaded with them to stop assaulting Varner (P). Ds persisted in attacking with kicks to the face, pepper spray, and a metal baton. Varner (P) had to be transferred to a civilian hospital for treatment of a broken eye socket, jaw, nose, and extensive bruising on his face and torso. Varner (P) had been suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In April 2017, Defendants Binns and Washington, as well as Sgt. Williams, were convicted and sentenced in this Court for their role in assaulting Varner (P). Other incidents were claimed but were not as serious as Varner’s (P). One of which suffered no visible injuries. Ps contend Ds are involved in a long-standing pattern and practice of using excessive force. They use secluded areas, such as elevators, to conduct these attacks because those areas are not under video surveillance. Ps allege prison administrators have failed to correct these practices and routinely downplay or ignore credible complaints of excessive force by inmates. Each Plaintiff brought a claim for damages against their attackers in violation of their Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Ds moved in part for a motion to sever.