ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) – St. Louis is trying to keep a lawsuit alleging its prison guards use too much mace on inmates from becoming a class action.
For now, the case has four plaintiffs. But if their motion for class certification is granted, things could get much more complicated for St. Louis, which filed its opposition June 3.
The three claims brought by a potential class seek injunctive relief. They seek an order prohibiting the unconstitutional use of chemical agents, use of chemical agents against detainees with disabilities and the practice of shutting an inmate’s water off as a punishment.
St. Louis’ opposition says the plaintiffs fail to satisfy the commonality, typicality and adequacy requirements for a class.
“Members of Plaintiffs’ putative class have different claims and different injuries, all involving critically different circumstances, all of which necessitate separate, individualized inquiries and adjudication,” the City argues.
“A review of relevant cases involving the use of pepper spray in a correctional facility reveals the sort of fact-intensive review that must be undergone in determining the constitutionality of the use of force as well as the question of whether an officer is entitled to qualified immunity.”
In May, federal judge Henry Edward Autrey rejected the City and multiple individual officers’ motion to have the trial split into separate proceedings for each defendant, ruling doing so “would cause considerable inconvenience.”
According to the complaint, on December 14, 2020, while detained in the St. Louis City Justice Center, Derrick Jones was maced in the face without provocation and was told to "marinate."
In February, Jerome Jones was allegedly placed in a small, secure visiting room when jail staff sprayed the room with excessive amounts of mace, leaving Jerome in the mace-filled room, asking for help and shouting that he could not breathe, for nearly half an hour.
Also in February, Darnell Rusan allegedly received the same type of treatment, when he was locked for hours, fully nude, in a room filled with mace.
The three plaintiffs allege these are just specific examples of how often correctional officers are using mace in an abusive manner. Plaintiffs allege that instances with correctional officers happen daily where they use excessive mace without warning.
Plaintiffs allege that correctional officers have been noted to carry around riot-size mace and use it in small confined rooms, often leaving the detainees unable to breathe and being refused medical treatment. According to the complaint, one detainee was maced while having a seizure.
But there were no significant injuries, the defendants said in a motion to dismiss last year that was partly granted. Derrick Jones was able to wash his face and eyes off and experienced “some burning” on his skin due to mace residue on his clothing, St. Louis argues.
As for Jerome Jones, he “admits that he was sprayed… when he repeatedly refused to cooperate” with directions, the motion says, leaving the officer in a position that require some “use of force to compel Jerome Jones’ obedience.”
Rusan, whose incident occurred during a period of frequent inmate riots and was indicted for beating one officer, and also throwing a chair at her.
“As pled, Lt. Turner and Officer Lewis sprayed Darnell Rusan while he was outside his cell near the phones in the housing unit. Rusan himself admits he picked up a chair, which is corroborated by the charging documents in his pending criminal case,” the motion says.
“He experienced, merely burning, eyes and skin attributable to the pepper spray, used by Turner and Lewis. This, in light of the fact that he was charged for placing Lt. Turner in apprehension of immediate physical injury, and in fact causing physical injury to Officer Lewis, allows the Court to conclude that his injuries were merely de minimis and the use of force was reasonable under the circumstances.”