Failure to Protect

Jail's intake officer had fair warning that it was unconstitutional not to prevent the placement of a white detainee alone with cellmate who had stabbed a stranger solely for being white two days before; officer not entitled to qualified immunity from § 1983  action alleging violation of due process based on officer's alleged failure to protect detainee from being killed by cellmate; clearly established that prison officials had duty to take reasonable action to protect prisoners from violence at the hands of other prisoners, and also clearly established that officer violated duty if he kne

In context of female student sexually assaulted at school, court reiterates that Fifth Circuit has not adopted state-created danger theory, thus defendants entitled to qualified immunity; court notes “to our knowledge we have not categorically ruled out the doctrine either.

Mother drowned children after police separated her and children from father; court rejects “legal requirement” exception to rule against liability for failure to act; rejects special-relationship exception on facts of case because officials did not have custody of the children, rejecting “de facto” custody argument; permits state created danger claim against officials who left children in situation more dangerous than one in which they found them; physical separation of father from children did not violate his right to familial association.

Plaintiff sufficiently alleged subjective prong of claim under 8th Amendment for failure to protect prisoner from widespread presence of drugs at state prison, based on claim that prisoner’s risk of death from fentanyl was obvious to warden, warden’s assistant, and two inspectors, because in days immediately preceding prisoner’s death two other prisoners in unit of 12 -16 prisoners had overdosed.

State inmate who suffered from severe mental health conditions had intercourse with another inmate which she stated was not consensual and was impregnated; claim subject to 8th amendment, not 14th amendment standard; deputies not deliberately indifferent and thus not liable for deputy’s leaving co-ed housing unit for inmates suffering from mental health conditions to use restroom; county not liable for failure to prevent sexual encounter, no authority for proposition that it violated 8th amendment not to house men and women separately.

Sergeant shift supervisor in prison was killed by prisoner who threw boiling liquid at her and beat her with fire extinguisher; plaintiff alleged defendant officials put decedent in a dangerous situation with in adequate staffing based on lack of trained and experienced officers to support her, and they were aware of, or should have been aware of, the imminent threat posed by the dangerous prisoner; court finds allegations insufficient to establish state-created danger, noting 6th Circuit has found state-created danger in only one case.

Probationer assigned to court-ordered work program was sexually assaulted by program supervisor; court denies qualified immunity to second supervisor who isolated her from other participants to enable assault; restrictions on physical movement and personal liberty under threat of incarceration created special relationship between probationer and program supervisor with duty to protect probationer; right to be free from government actor’s sexual assault (right to personal security and bodily integrity) while participating in court-ordered work program was clearly established.

Court remands state created danger claim for reconsideration of summary judgment for defendant where officer responded to tenants’ complaint that landlord had threatened to kill them and left after expressing sympathy to landlord and taking no action; recent decision in Irish v. Fowler, 979 F.3d 65 (1st Cir.

Officers who responded differently to domestic violence complaints by woman whose assailant was police officer than they responded to similar complaints against non-police assailants, without rational basis for disparate treatment, violated equal protection rights; no qualified immunity.

Prison counselor not liable for failure to protect plaintiff from assault by cellmate where counselor was neither objectively aware of nor deliberately indifferent to risk of harm.