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Client Outcomes November 2006 Arbitrator Catherine Harris overturned the 30-day suspension imposed against Correctional Officer Michael Griggs by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department for his role in the death of inmate Montez Denmon on September 5, 2003 in the San Joaquin County Jail. The in-custody death of inmate Denmon led to numerous legal actions starting with an unprecedented open and public Grand Jury hearing, the criminal prosecution and acquittal of Officer Greg Fuhrer, the demotion of a sergeant and the suspension of Officer Griggs. Officer Fuhrer was also terminated. His appeal is still pending. On September 5, 2003, Denmon was arrested by the Stockton Police Department and charged with domestic violence. When inmate Denmon arrived at the jail, the case was reviewed by a Classification Officer and it was determined that, due to his criminal history, he would be placed in a holding cell and then transported to administrative segregation section of the jail. The Inmate's Resistance in the Booking Area While he was being processed in the booking area, inmate Denmon became immediately argumentative and combative. While in the holding cell, the inmate began banging on the door of his cell and yelling "tell that bitch (referring to the victim of the alleged assault) when I get out of here, I'm going to kill her." At the same time, the inmate was screaming at other inmates and staff to "call his people...because something was going to go down...he was not going out like this." Officers made numerous efforts to calm inmate Denmon but his behavior continued unabated. The inmate next flooded the holding cell, covered the window with wet toilet paper to obscure the view of officers who were observing him. At the same time, he yelled "Bring the boys. You're not going to take me there. I'm not going to the hole." Two Correctional Officers and a Correctional Sergeant entered the booking cell and deployed pepper spray in an effort to get the inmate under control. The officers forcibly extracted inmate Denmon from the cell by dragging him out by his feet. The inmate tried to get up and disobeyed direct orders to stay down. To control the inmate one officer, who weighed 380 pounds, applied his full body weight to the inmate. The inmate, who was about 6' 2" tall, 240 pounds was able to lift this officer off the floor. Officers were finally able to gain control of the inmate and he was placed in a mobile restraint chair. Medical staff ordered the inmate be taken to the medical housing unit and placed on a 5-point restraint bed. Inmate Escapes from Restraints Before Officer Griggs ever became involved, the inmate slipped or broke free from his restraints on the five point restraint hold at least three times. Each time, officers would enter the medical housing cell and re-restrain inmate Denmon. On the last occasion, inmate Denmon was able to break the heavy duty leather restraint from his waist area. Numerous officers testified that they had never seen an inmate break the leather waist restraint. Each officer testified that they feared for their safety when they saw him exhibit such extraordinary strength. Officers Enter the Medical Housing Unit Cell After inmate Denmon broke free from some of his restraints the final time a number of officers and deputies were called to the medical housing unit including Officer Griggs. When Officer Griggs arrived he observed the inmate break the leather waist restraint and break free from one of his hand restraints. The officers decided that if they did not immediately enter the cell and gain control of the inmate he would become free of the five-point restraint and bed and would be much more dangerous and difficult to subdue. Approximately nine officers and deputies entered the cell and each went to a different location on the inmate to try to get him under control. The inmate violently pushed off the restraint bed. Officer Griggs went to the inmate's head area and tried to hold the inmate's head to keep him from biting other staff members. Officer Griggs also tried a pain compliance hold by applying pressure behind the inmate's ear. This effort proved to be totally ineffective. Throughout the incident the inmate was screaming and yelling at the staff members and disobeying their repeated commands to stop fighting. With the inmate still out of control, Officer Griggs climbed on top of the inmate and stood on his upper back area with both feet. Officer Griggs testified that he did this to try to prevent the inmate from getting up on his hands and knees. At the time the inmate was lifting his body up and shifting his weight back toward his knees. Officer Griggs was afraid that the inmate would be able to gain additional leverage and break free from additional restraints. All of this was occurring while several officers and deputies holding or applying body weight to different parts of the inmate's body. While Officer Griggs was standing on the inmate's back the inmate pressed him up towards the ceiling. Officer Griggs responded by pushing off the ceiling and applying additional force on the inmate's back. Officer Griggs continued his efforts to get the inmate back on the five-point restraint bed for up to one minute. Then, suddenly, the inmate went limp. Officer Griggs immediately climbed down from the inmate's back. Officer Griggs testified that at this point he thought an officer had successfully applied a carotid restraint on the inmate. After about 30 to 60 seconds the inmate regained consciousness and began fighting again. At this point Officer Griggs attempted to restrain the inmate's legs while other staff members grabbed other body parts of the inmate. After approximately another 60 seconds of fighting the inmate suddenly stopped resisting again and went limp. Officers called paramedics who arrived within seconds. The paramedics were unable to revive inmate Denmon in the cell. The paramedics transported inmate Denmon to the hospital where he was later declared dead. The County Coroner later declared that the cause of death was positional or restraint asphyxiation. The Investigation The Department immediately started it's investigation. Numerous correctional officers and deputies were immediately named as either witnesses or subjects of the investigation. The Department concluded that Officer Griggs used excessive force on inmate Denmon by standing on the inmate's back which was inherently dangerous and made it difficult for the inmate to breathe. The Department concluded the inmate died of positional asphyxiation and acknowledged that the death of the inmate contributed to it's decision to take disciplinary action against Officer Griggs and other staff members. The Department concluded that Officer Griggs had other and better options to restrain inmate Denmon and should not have stood on the inmate's back. Officer Griggs' Use of Force was Reasonable The Arbitrator concluded that Officer Griggs' use of force was reasonable. Officer Griggs reasonably perceived inmate Denmon to be one of the most dangerous and violent inmates he had dealt with. Inmate Denmon had repeatedly broke out of his restraints and exhibited extraordinary strength when fighting with the officers. Over the course of the afternoon officers and deputies took numerous measures to control the inmate including efforts to establish a rapport with him, pepper spray, control holds, and pain compliance. Nevertheless, the inmate remained unpredictable and dangerous. Inmate Denmon broke his leather waist restraint while attempting to breakout of the five-point restraint bed while in the Medical Housing Unit. Numerous officers and deputies testified that they had never seen an inmate actually break the thick, leather, waist restraint. All staff members testified that they feared for their safety in dealing with inmate Denmon. Officer Griggs did not Violate the Department's Use of Force Policy The Department alleged that Officer Griggs' use of force was excessive and therefore, in violation of the Department's use of force policy when he stood on inmate Denmon's back. Despite the Department's allegations, the use of force policy does not prohibit officers from standing or jumping on an inmate to get him under control. The Arbitrator followed well established law that an officer may use reasonable force based on the circumstances that face him or her at the moment in time they decide to use force. Further, the Arbitrator found the analysis of whether an officer's use of force was reasonable must be judged from the perspective of Officer Griggs at the moment he decided to use force. Officer Griggs had very few options in dealing with inmate Denmon. While in the Medical Housing Unit, inmate Denmon was attempting to breakout of the five-point restraint bed. He had already slipped one hand free and had broken the leather waist restraint. The officers and deputies entered the cell and tried to hold the inmate on the bed with little success. Officers used control holds and pain compliance holds to control the inmate. Again, the officers had little success. Officer Griggs genuinely feared that if the inmate was able to climb off of the five-point restraint bed, he would severely injury officers and deputies. For these reasons, Officer Griggs climbed on the back of the inmate and tried to use his body weight to force the inmate back onto the five-point restraint bed. Remarkably, the inmate was still able to lift Officer Griggs up into the ceiling of the cell. The Arbitrator found that Officer Griggs' conduct was within his training, was within the Department's use of force policy, and was a perfectly reasonably use of force. The Inmate's Cause of Death The Department and the San Joaquin County District Attorney's office undoubtedly took action against officers and deputies based, in part, on their erroneous conclusion of the inmate's cause of death. The Department relied upon the coroner's conclusion that inmate Denmon died of positional asphyxiation. Beyond the coroner's conclusion regarding the inmate's cause of death, the Department ignored recent and uncontradicted scientific studies that show positional or restrain asphyxia is a complete myth in the law enforcement context. In this case, despite the Department's contentions, Officer Griggs' weight on the inmate's back did not sufficiently interfere with his ability to breath to lower his blood oxygen to critical levels. In all likelihood, inmate Denmon died of a heart arrhythmia that had nothing to do with the use of force action taken by Officer Griggs or any other officer or deputy. The Arbitrator's Award Arbitrator Catherine Harris completely overturned the Department's disciplinary action. The Arbitrator ruled that Officer Griggs should be made whole for any loss of wages, benefits and seniority attributable to the suspension. The Arbitrator also ruled the negative performance evaluation that Officer Griggs received as a result of this incident be rescinded. Paul Q. Goyette, Esq.
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