Cope v. Cogdill

In disgusting opinion, court affords qualified immunity to sole officer on duty at jail who observed prisoner, who had said he wanted to kill himself, had previously received psychiatric services, and who had earlier been placed on suicide watch, fatally strangle himself with phone cord in his cell; officer called fellow officer for backup and declined to enter cell for ten minutes until second officer arrived; neither officer attempted resuscitation and waited seven more minutes for paramedics to do so; court holds it was unconstitutional for officer not to call for emergency assistance immediately, but requirement was not clearly established; officers afforded qualified immunity for placing suicidal prisoner in cell with a phone cord, because danger of phone cord was “not as obvious as the dangers posed by bedding, for which the court had previously denied qualified immunity; officers’ decision to staff jail with only one officer on weekend was entitled to qualified immunity.