Defendant's Attorney: Clark Brewster

Description: Tulsa, Oklahoma civil rights lawyer represented Plaintiff, who sued defendants on a 42 U.S.C. 1983 on a constitutional rights violation theory.

"On October 21, 2011, Owasso Police Department ('OPD') officers responded to a call about Mr. Williams’s disruptive behavior and arrested him for obstructing an officer. They took him to the Owasso jail. The booking report shows the officers believed Mr. Williams was 'suicidal.'..."


After arriving at the jail, Mr. Williams was forcibly taken to holding cell #10 following a confrontation with staff over his refusal to change his clothes. Shortly thereafter, while alone in the holding cell, Mr. Williams hit his head and became partially paralyzed. Nurse Kimberly Hughes and two detention officers first observed Mr. Williams lying face-up, complaining that he "broke his neck." Id. at 11876; see also id. at 7327-30. He said, "I can’t move, I can’t move" and "My neck hurts." Id. at 11899; see also id. at 7331. He told Nurse Hughes he had head-butted the door of the holding cell. Nurse Hughes said she "visually checked and there was nothing wrong with his neck." Id. at 11900. She did not provide Mr. Williams any medical treatment.

More than ten hours later, Nurse Faye Taylor and detention officers found Mr. Williams in holding cell #10 still unable to get up. They declared a "medical emergency." Id. at 7349; see also id. at 7380-81. Nurse Earnie Chappell recorded a note, stating: "[Mr. Williams] is awake, laying on floor in holding cell. states ‘I cannot move my legs and there is something in my rectum.[’] Asking nurse to cut him open & kill him. Admitted to medical ...." Id. at 10870.

When Mr. Williams arrived in the jail’s medical unit, Nurse Mary Hudson took his vital signs and blood pressure and scraped the bottom of his foot with a pen to test his reflexes. Mr. Williams moved his legs in response to this stimulus. Nurse Chappell also was present. At least one of the nurses stated she believed Mr. Williams was faking his paralysis. The nurses did not provide Mr. Williams any medical treatment. They asked detention officers to take him to the shower because he had defecated on himself in the holding cell.

Detention Officers Tommy Fike and Doug Hinshaw took Mr. Williams to the shower on a gurney. When Mr. Williams told them he could not get up, they laid him face up in the shower, removed his pants and shirt, turned on the water, and left. They left Mr. Williams in the shower for at least an hour, returning at some point to turn him over before leaving again. Detention Officer Christopher Leverich, who helped move Mr. Williams from the shower to a cell in the medical unit, said Mr. Williams was screaming, "Help me." Id. at 6905, 11911. His skin was purple, suggesting oxygen deprivation. The officers remarked "that something’s wrong with Williams." Id. at 11911.

That night, Officers Carmelita Norris and Dakota Walsh were assigned to check on Mr. Williams. Officer Norris did not see Mr. Williams walk, stand, or sit up by himself during her 12-hour shift. Officer Walsh said Williams "was making it very clear through the whole night that he was unable to move." Id. at 11924.

Nurse Raymond Stiles also checked on Mr. Williams overnight. His notes reported Mr. Williams "state[d] that he cannot walk. However booking staff states he did not use wheel chair or any other walking aid when brought into jail. Continues to tell Nursing staff here that he just cannot walk, or even pull blankets over his shoulder. Wants to be waited on." Id. at 10865.

b. October 23-24—Continued paralysis and arrival of mental health staff

Mr. Williams received no medical treatment or evaluation on October 23.

Detention Officer Leticia Glover recalled that during the night of the 23rd, Mr. Williams yelled out that he could not feel his legs. Officer Glover informed "Nurse Paul or Nurse Ray" that Mr. Williams "wants something" and asked that they "at least go down there and look at him," but no one did. Id. at 11910; see also id. at 7449-50.

Nurse Stiles’s notes from the morning of October 24 recorded Mr. Williams "stat[ing] he cannot walk," adding, "[b]ut when his suicide blanket slides off he manages to get it back over his body without asst. Can’t remembeif [sic] he is suicidal or not." Id. at 10866. Nurse Charity Chumley’s notes from about the same time described Mr. Williams’s breathing as "even/unlabored" and his position as "lying on bed with out [sic] clothes refusing to answer any questions." Id.

On October 24, Dr. Stephen Harnish, the jail’s part-time psychiatrist, first learned of Mr. Williams’s condition. He testified that other members of the jail’s mental health staff informed him during a routine meeting that they "[had] some questions about [Mr. Williams]." Id. at 8479. Dr. Harnish did not see or examine Mr. Williams that day. Rather, John Bell, a counselor and member of the jail’s mental health staff, visited Mr. Williams. He noted that Mr. Williams would "lie on bed and not respond to ... questions," "acted as if paralyzed," and said, "I want water." Id. at 10866. Mr. Bell did not treat Mr. Williams but provided him "education" regarding "coping skills." Id.

The same day, Dr. Harnish "set forth a plan" to determine whether Mr. Williams was paralyzed. Id. at 8489. He ordered Mr. Williams be placed in a video-monitored cell2 where detention officers and nurses could regularly check on him.

c. October 25—Transfer to monitored cell and visit from Dr. Harnish

At 8:27 a.m. on October 25, detention officers placed Mr. Williams on a blanket and dragged him, naked, into Medical Cell 1. A few minutes later, a detention officer placed a small cup of water at his feet.

Dr. Harnish met with Mr. Williams for the first time that morning. Patricia Benoit, a counselor and mental health team member, accompanied him. When Mr. Williams requested "a bucket of ice water and a tube to drink threw [sic]," id. at 11304, Dr. Harnish moved the water cup within reach of Mr. Williams’s right arm. He described Mr. Williams as moving his arms, hands, and neck during the visit. Although Dr. Harnish conducted no medical evaluation, he recorded that he "doubt[ed the] medical etiology of [Williams’s] claimed paralysis." Id. at 10868. Dr. Harnish testified he was aware Mr. Williams may be paralyzed. Ms. Benoit stated, "It was really hard to tell if [Mr. Williams’s paralysis] was psychosomatic or if it was physical." Id. at 11939.

Video showed that about an hour after Dr. Harnish’s visit, a detention officer opened the door to Mr. Williams’s cell and tossed a food container on the floor, out of his reach. The container remained untouched for two days. Mr. Williams unsuccessfully attempted to lift the water cup and to open a second food container that landed within his reach.

d. October 26—Lack of medical examination or treatment

Nurse Hughes wrote a note shortly after midnight on October 26 reporting that Mr. Williams was "muttering, can’t understand a word," and that he was "lying on the floor, covered by blanket—will not get up for [vital signs] & cannot understant [sic] his ‘mutters.’ " Id. at 10867. When she returned several hours later, she "could see on his mouth where he had slobbered something, a white residue, on the mouth." Id. at 11901. Mr. Williams asked for water, but when Nurse Hughes told him to come to the door with his cup, Mr. Williams told her he could not move. Nurse Hughes asked Detention Officers Steven Smith and Crystal Rich to open the door to Mr. Williams’s cell, but they refused, citing safety reasons. Nurse Hughes left without relaying her concerns to other medical personnel.

The evidence regarding Mr. Williams’s mobility during the night of October 25-26 consisted of (1) Nurse Hughes’s notes describing Mr. Williams lying on the floor of his cell; (2) Ms. Benoit’s notes relating that Mr. Williams "reportedly was given water by the [detention officer] overnight and was told to come to the [slot in the door] to get the water and he did," id. at 10867; and (3) a video that captured all movement in Mr. Williams’s cell, which did not show he moved his lower body at all.

On the morning of October 26, Ms. Benoit noted that Mr. Williams was "still refusing to move or admit he can move." Id. She thought Mr. Williams suffered from "psychosomatic paralysis." Id. Nurse Carmen Luca recorded that Mr. Williams was "stating that he cannot move." Id. She administered no care and did not examine Mr. Williams or take his vital signs. That evening, Nurse Devorsha Stewart wrote that Mr. Williams was "laying on floor partially covered by blanket, shaking." Id. at 10868.

e. October 27—Mr. Williams’s first medical exam

Detention Officers Carmelita Norris and Ronald Reynolds stated they checked on Mr. Williams 22 times between 7:00 p.m. on October 26 and 7:00 a.m. on October 27. When they asked if he was okay, Mr. Williams said he was. The officers delivered breakfast at 5:15 a.m. on October 27 and recorded that Mr. Williams was able
to feed himself. The video from Mr. Williams’s cell refutes this account, however. The video showed a food container being dropped near Mr. Williams’s feet around that time. It also showed that, when medical staff arrived three hours later, the container was untouched.

Nurse Luca, Mr. Bell, and Dr. Khadga Limbu, a resident in family medicine who was assigned to a behavioral rotation at the jail, examined Mr. Williams. Mr. Bell’s note reported that at 8:36 a.m. on October 27 Mr. Williams was "laying on floor with some spittle on cheek" and stated, "I want my phone, Iwant [sic] my phone." Id. at 10868. The note also recorded that Mr. Williams’s speech was unclear and his memory and "insight/judgment/impulse control" were "poor." Id.

When Nurse Luca ran her pen across the bottoms of Mr. Williams’s feet to test his reflexes, there was no response, but there was a little response when Dr. Limbu did the same. Dr. Limbu and Mr. Bell informed Dr. Phillip Washburn, the jail’s medical director, that Mr. Williams needed medical attention. Dr. Limbu told Dr. Washburn, "I think we might need to get a CT Scan of the head or something like that just to rule out any medical conditions and [Dr. Washburn] said he would look at him later." Id. at 11890. Dr. Washburn never followed up on Dr. Limbu’s recommendations.

3. Mr. Williams’s Death

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on October 27, 2011, jail personnel discovered Mr. Williams was unresponsive. Several nurses, including Julie Hightower, attempted CPR until paramedics arrived. Attempts to resuscitate Mr. Williams were unsuccessful.

The medical examiner determined Mr. Williams died from "complications of a [sic] vertebral spinal injuries due to blunt force trauma." Id. at 7567. The post-mortem examination showed Mr. Williams was dehydrated. Ms. Burke’s expert, Dr. Zeeshaan Khan, opined that the jail’s failure to stabilize Mr. Williams’s neck caused a hematoma that travelled up his spine and shut down his spinal cord, which in turn caused Mr. Williams’s respiratory muscles to stop working. He testified that if the jail had stabilized Mr. Williams’s neck and referred him to an appropriate medical facility, his death likely would have been avoided.
Burke v. Regalado, 935 F.3d 960 (10th Cir. 2019)

Outcome: Judgment in favor of Defendants appealed.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: