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City of Crossville v. Haynes8/12/2005
rocess, Tittle did not appear to be suicidal. The Court stated that it was undisputed that Tittle did not manifest suicidal proclivities in the presence of the defendants during his three-day stay at the Jefferson County jail. Based on that evidence, this Court affirmed the summary judgment in favor of the defendants.
Comparing the evidence presented in the instant case to that presented in Popham, Smith, Williams, and Tittle, supra, we agree with the City of Crossville that Haynes failed to present sufficient evidence to withstand the City of Crossville's motion for a judgment as a matter of law on the issue of the foreseeability of Corley's suicide. From the record, it is apparent that the City of Crossville knew only the following about Corley: (1) that he had been arrested on a worthless-check warrant; (2) that he had been picked up in Cherokee County and then transferred to DeKalb County; (3) that he had become irate on one occasion when he wanted to go outside to smoke and he later apologized for his behavior; (4) that he had mentioned to one of the officers that he had had a nervous breakdown and that a tornado had destroyed his business; (5) that he had soiled his pants when he first came to the Crossville city jail; (6) that he had asked on more than one occasion for some unidentified medication; and (7) that he had asked to speak with a Cherokee County drug-enforcement agent.
Corley's fiancée claimed to have observed Corley pacing, babbling, or tapping his head, but she did not report it to anyone employed with the City of Crossville. Haynes did not present any evidence to indicate that anyone employed with the City of Crossville ever observed such behavior in Corley. Additionally, Corley's family members knew that Corley had been treated for drug addiction and mental illness; however, that information was not provided to the City of Crossville. Further, Corley's fiancée knew that Corley was asking for an antidepressant although one had not been prescribed for him. However, again, that information was not conveyed to the City of Crossville. The employees of the Crossville city jail knew only that Corley was requesting some unidentified medication. Additionally, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department was aware of Corley's treatment for drug addiction and mental-health problems by virtue of its booking sheet on Corley. However, no one employed with the City of Crossville obtained this information.
Thus, the evidence in this case does not rise even to the level of that presented in Smith, supra, and Williams, supra, because, in those cases, the jailers or officials were aware of the decedents' mental illnesses. Further, Corley never made any actual or implied threat to harm himself, as did the decedents in Smith, supra, and Williams, supra. If the evidence proffered in Smith and Williams did not establish foreseeability on the part of the defendants, the evidence presented in this case cannot, as a matter of law, establish the necessary foreseeability. Without foreseeability that the decedent would attempt suicide, there can be no recognized legal duty to prevent a suicide attempt and, thus, no right of recovery.
Next, Haynes argues that if the necessary foreseeability has not been established, it is only because the City of Crossville negligently or wantonly failed to train its employees to perform a booking or intake evaluation on arrestees and prisoners and negligently or wantonly failed to train its employees to properly supervise, evaluate, and monitor arrestees and prisoners. This assertion was also the basis of the claim asserted against the City of Crossville under § 11-47-190, Ala. Code 1975. However, this argument fails to support the submission of Hayn
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