Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 1 of 17

PageID #: 1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
JOSHUA DICKINSON,

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
) CASE NO. 1:19-cv-00706
)
)
)
)
)
)

Plaintiff,
v.
MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA;
MOBILE COUNTY SHERIFF SAM
COCHRAN; and METRO JAIL
WARDEN NOAH PRICE “TREY”
OLIVER, III,
Defendants.

COMPLAINT
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
1.

This action arises under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United

States Constitution; 42 U.S.C. § 1983; § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29
U.S.C. § 701 et seq.; and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.
§ 12131 et seq.
2.

This Court has jurisdiction of plaintiff’s Federal claims pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 1331.
3.

Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), as the majority of the

defendants reside in this judicial district and the events and omissions giving rise to
plaintiff’s claims occurred within this judicial district.
1

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 2 of 17

PageID #: 2

PARTIES 1
4.

Plaintiff Joshua Dickinson is of legal age, a citizen, and a resident of

the state of Alabama and Clarke County. Plaintiff is an individual with a disability
as that term is defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act. He has a physical or mental impairment which substantially
limits him in the major life activities of caring for himself, concentrating, and
working. He is also regarded as having a disability and has a record of such.
Plaintiff also has a serious health condition under the Rehabilitation Act and he is
an employee who is eligible for benefits under that statute.
5.

Defendant Mobile County, Alabama is an Alabama county. It is

responsible for funding the Mobile Metro Jail. It is a public agency, and upon
information and belief, a recipient of Federal financial assistance under the
Rehabilitation Act. It is also an entity subject to suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983.
6.

Defendant Sam Cochran was the Mobile County Sheriff at all relevant

times. As the sheriff, among other things, he is responsible for management of the
Mobile Metro Jail. Defendant has a statutory duty under Alabama law to attend to
the needs of inmates in the jail.

1

Plaintiff intends to add more individual defendants, in particular the agents of the Sheriff
whose acts are described herein but have not been identified. Plaintiff will seek expedited
discovery to identify all potential defendants.
2

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 3 of 17

7.

PageID #: 3

Defendant Noah Price “Trey” Oliver was the Mobile Metro Jail

Warden at all relevant times.
8.

Plaintiff sues each of the individual defendants in their individual

capacity unless otherwise noted. Each of the individual defendants acted under
color of state law and within the scope of his employment when engaging in the
misconduct described herein.
FACTS
9.

On January 9, 2018, Joshua Dickinson (Joshua) was arrested for a

domestic violence charge, arising out of a dispute with his aunt during an
emotional family gathering at his grandmother’s hospital room.
10.

Joshua was transported to the Mobile Metro Jail in Mobile, Alabama.

He was processed through the Jail’s intake system and placed in a three man cell
which was locked down twenty-three hours a day. Joshua was allowed out of his
cell and into a wedge day room one hour a day.
11.

Upon information and belief, Joshua was assigned to this wedge and

cell based upon his mental condition at the time. Upon information and belief, he
was issued suicide prevention garb and kept under observation as were all other
detainees in this wedge.
12.

Joshua’s first cell mate was a Black male with an obvious mental

condition. The cell mate talked to himself all night but Joshua was unable to

3

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 4 of 17

PageID #: 4

communicate with him. The condition of this cell mate so frightened Joshua that
he sought assistance from the Jail to see a psychiatrist but was denied the same.
13.

A second cell mate, an Hispanic male, was brought in but was held

only for twenty-four hours, and then was released.
14.

On January 10, 2018, Joshua appeared in open court, in person, and

pled not guilty to the charges against him. After hearing the evidence, the court
held that the case was nolle prossed. Joshua was returned to the Jail and kept in
detention for unknown reasons.
15.

On January 11, 2018, between 6:30 and 8:00 in the morning, a Joshua

Brown (Brown) was dragged into Joshua’s cell by four or five correctional
officers. Brown was in a rage and fighting with the correctional officers.
16.

The officers stripped Brown and provided him a cloth to wear around

his waist and top. Presumably, this clothing, like Joshua’s, was meant to be
suicide deterrent garb. Brown continued to be violently resistant to the guards.
17.

The correctional officers left and closed the cell door, leaving the

three detainees in the cell alone, Joshua, Brown, and the Black male who was
originally in the cell.
18.

Joshua turned his back on the others and began to do pushups against

the wall when suddenly he was hit across the back of the head. As Joshua turned
around, Brown attacked him with a switchblade, or some other commercially made
knife, and stabbed Joshua in the right shoulder.
4

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 5 of 17

19.

PageID #: 5

Joshua attempted to fight back and punched Brown away from him.

Brown then stabbed Joshua in the left shoulder.
20.

Brown also attempted to stab Joshua in the chest, and Joshua received

more, serious stab wounds.
21.

At some point, the cell door was opened and the two emerged,

struggling into the day room.
22.

Correctional officers were called to the wedge at this point, and taser

both Joshua and Brown. Joshua found himself lying in a huge pool of his own
blood as he lost consciousness.
23.

Joshua was taken to the University of South Alabama Medical Center

where he was treated and his wounds were sutured.
24.

Joshua was returned to Mobile Metro Jail and placed in a cell by

himself.
25.

The next morning, Joshua was bonded out by his mother.

26.

Joshua suffered traumatic and serious physical and emotional injuries

as a result of the assault.
27.

Shortly following Joshua’s release from the Mobile Metro Jail, he

suffered an emotional breakdown. He was taken to the Clark County Jail and
thereafter probated and committed to Brown-Whitfield Hospital, a mental
institution in Demopolis, Alabama. Joshua suffered such severe emotional
distress, rage, and anger due to the attack that it contributed to his hospitalization
5

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 6 of 17

PageID #: 6

and his commitment in Demopolis. This hospitalization was a direct result of the
Defendants’ violations of Joshua’s Fourteenth Amendment rights.
28.

In the months that followed, Joshua was contacted by the Mobile

County District Attorney, Ashley Rich, in order to assist the District Attorney’s
office in the prosecution of Brown. After initially interviewing Joshua and
preparing for trial, prosecutors stopped contacting him. Joshua is unaware of the
outcome of the case against Brown.
29.

Upon information and belief, Brown had a long history of violent

behavior known to the law enforcement agents of the Mobile County Sheriff.
30.

Upon information and belief, the personnel from the Mobile Metro

Jail were aware of Brown’s violent proclivities and the likelihood that he would
violently attack anyone with whom he came in contact on January 11, 2018.
31.

Upon information and belief, agents of the Sheriff of Mobile County

who operated the Mobile Metro Jail, and in particular those responsible for the
screening of incoming detainees, failed to properly search Brown (or others) and
find an obvious weapon. But for their failure to properly search and discover said
weapon, Joshua was severely injured.
32.

Upon information and belief, about one week later, another inmate

was stabbed in the Mobile Metro Jail by inmate Greg Hackett after being in Metro
Jail for two weeks.

6

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 7 of 17

33.

PageID #: 7

During the news coverage of the attack upon Joshua, Trey Oliver, the

Warden of the Mobile Metro Jail, made the following admissions 2:
a.

Brown was locked down in the docket room for a number of
hours. He was disruptive and combative.

b.

When he finally “calmed down,” Brown was transferred to a
secure housing unit, or a special housing unit.

c.

A knife was produced and Brown cut Joshua.

d.

Something like this occurred when an Officer Green was
murdered in the Intake.

e.

Apparently, a “few people didn’t do their job.”

f.

Sometimes when you get it wrong, something like a knife or
gun can slip through.

g.

It was early in the morning. That will be one of our issues of
concern or one of our areas we will look into. Is this a training
issue? Is this a new employee issue, or what?

h.

Protocol is that we strip search these inmates before we move
them to the back.

i.

Sometimes inmates that are being kept here are mingled with
new arrestees and all that transpires in the docket area.

2

https://www.facebook.com/FOX10News/videos/10156167278713944/
7

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 8 of 17

j.

PageID #: 8

The docket area can become crowded. It is inadequate, the size
that it is now. The Mobile County Commission is aware of that
and plans are currently underway to expand the docket area.

k.

If you get 8, 9, or 10 people at one time being processed, it
creates some confusion. And in a tight working space,
sometimes things like this happen.

l.

People don’t always do what they’re supposed to do. We’re not
sure on that yet, but I have no doubt that after we review the
security cameras, we will have the answers to exactly what
happened and why.

34.

Based upon these admissions, it appears that the physical plant of the

Mobile Metro Jail was so inadequately built or maintained that an adequate search
could not be made of the incoming inmates and that failure of the Mobile County
Commission was a proximate cause of Brown’s attack on Joshua with a knife.
35.

The county commission is charged with maintaining jails and each

county is required to maintain a jail of sufficient size and strength to secure the
prisoners. Ala. Code (1975) §§ 11-14-10, 11-14-13. The counties’ duties to
“maintain a jail” under Ala. Code (1975) § 11-14-10 requires that it keep the “jail
and all equipment therein in a state of repair and to preserve it from failure or
decline.” Keeton v. Fayette County, 558 So.2d 884, 886 (Ala. 1989). The
Alabama Code provides for the counties to remain informed about conditions in
8

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 9 of 17

PageID #: 9

the jails. The county commission has the authority to inspect the jail without
notice to the sheriff. Ala. Code § 11-14-22 (1989).
36.

Further, based upon the admission of the Warden, training,

supervision, and retention of certain correctional officer staff was so inadequate
and so widespread that the Sheriff, Warden, and supervisory agents of the Mobile
Metro Jail were deliberately indifferent to the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment
violations posed to the health and safety of the detainees held therein.
37.

Despite plaintiff’s vulnerability and lack of a serious criminal history,

plaintiff was housed with violent inmates, including Joshua Brown, who on or
about January 11, 2018, brutally attacked plaintiff, including stabbing him multiple
times.
38.

Defendants routinely housed non-violent inmates like plaintiff with

violent inmates.
39.

The Mobile Metro Jail, has been routinely handling far more inmates

than for which it was designed.
40.

Defendants have recognized the need for an adequate jail facility for a

period extending long before Joshua’s detention.
41.

Because of the limitations of the facilities, jail personnel are limited in

their ability to protect non-violent inmates from dangerous inmates.

9

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 10 of 17

42.

PageID #: 10

These limitations were known to Defendants for an extended period.

Nevertheless, with deliberate indifference, Defendants have not addressed the
problem.
43.

Long before the assault, Cochran, Oliver, and others, were aware that

assaults were a serious problem. Defendants Cochran and Oliver, acting with
deliberate indifference, routinely housed dangerous inmates in crowded conditions
with non-violent inmates like Joshua.
44.

Defendants Cochran and Oliver, acting with deliberate indifference,

established an unreasonable and longstanding policy of not identifying and
segregating inmates known or likely to be perpetrators of assaults.
45.

The jail was both dangerously overcrowded and dangerously

understaffed at the time plaintiff was attacked, putting inmates such as Joshua at
substantial risk of harm.
46.

Nevertheless, defendants Cochran and Oliver failed to promulgate,

implement, and enforce adequate policies, procedures, and practices necessary to
adequately supervise and monitor the housing units to maintain the safety of
inmates therein.

10

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 11 of 17

PageID #: 11

CLAIMS
Count I - 42 U.S.C § 1983
Failure to Protect
(Against Mobile County, Cochran, and Oliver)
47.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this complaint as if fully

restated here.
48.

Pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States

Constitution, plaintiff is entitled to be free from a known and unreasonable risk of
serious harm while in jail.
49.

Defendants, acting individually and in conspiracy with other

defendants, failed to protect plaintiff.
50.

Defendants knew of and consciously disregarded the substantial risk

that plaintiff would be injured while incarcerated, failing to protect him from harm.
51.

The misconduct described in this count was undertaken with

deliberate indifference, malice, willfulness, and/or reckless indifference to the
rights of plaintiff and others and was objectively unreasonable.
52.

Defendants’ misconduct directly and proximately caused plaintiff to

be subjected to an unreasonable risk of serious harm, and caused him to suffer
damages including pain, suffering, fear, anxiety, rage, and other harmful physical
and psychological harms, both from the brutal assault and its devastating
aftermath.

11

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 12 of 17

PageID #: 12

Count II - § 1983 Violation of Overdention
(Against Cochran and Oliver)
53.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this complaint as if fully

restated here.
54.

Inmates and pre-trial detainees have a Fourteenth Amendment liberty

interest and a due process interest in being released on time. Excessive
confinement denies a detainee due process. Excessive confinement of an inmate
constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
55.

Cochran, Oliver and other jail agents were on notice prior to the

confinement of Joshua of their obligations to Joshua to release him in a timely
manner. They were aware that failure to release Joshua in a timely manner
constituted a violation of his due process rights as a detainee.
56.

Upon information and belief, Cochran and Oliver were aware that

inmates and pre-trial detainees have not been released from the Metro Jail on a
timely basis. The excessive confinement abuses have been so widespread and well
known as to constitute a custom and practice of the Defendants.
57.

Despite the known dangers posed to Joshua, Cochran, Oliver, and

other agents of the Jail not presently known were deliberately indifferent to the
risks posed to Joshua by his excessive confinement.
58.

Cochran and Oliver recklessly ignored Joshua’s constitutional rights.

12

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 13 of 17

59.

PageID #: 13

Joshua suffered injury, emotional distress, anxiety, frustration, and the

loss of comfort of family as a result of his excessive confinement.
Count V - § 1983 Failure to Train, Staff and Supervise
(Against Cochran and Oliver)
60.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this complaint as if fully

restated here.
61.

Sheriff Sam Cochran and Warden Trey Oliver as a matter of policy

and practice and with deliberate indifference, failed to properly train, assign, and
supervise correctional officers and Joshua was damaged as a result the aforesaid
conduct and damages occurred.
62.

Upon information and belief, Cochran and Oliver were the final

repositories of authority for the purposes of training and supervising staff to insure
proper classification, cell assignment, medical care, and timely release of
detainees. Their deliberate indifference to the dangers posed by these failures gave
rise to Joshua’s injuries.
63.

Defendants violated Joshua’s Constitutional rights and are liable

under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

13

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 14 of 17

PageID #: 14

Count IV – Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
(Against Cochran and Oliver)
64.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this complaint as if fully

restated here.
65.

Plaintiff’s psychiatric conditions were impairments that substantially

limited one or more of his major life activities. Plaintiff, therefore, had a disability
within the meaning of the ADA.
66.

The Mobile County Metro Jail is a public building within the meaning

of Title II of the ADA.
67.

Defendants Cochran and Oliver denied plaintiff the benefits of the

jail’s protective programs on the basis of plaintiff’s disabilities.
68.

Defendants Cochran and Oliver refused to make a reasonable

accommodation for plaintiff by providing him with appropriate protection to
prevent or alleviate the likelihood of damage from an attack, even though
accommodation would in no way alter the nature of the jail.
69.

In the alternative, the Defendants Cochran and Oliver failed to

appropriately accommodate Brown who himself exhibited tendencies of a disabled
detainee.
70.

Based upon the foregoing, Cochran and Oliver violated the ADA and

plaintiff was damaged as a result.

14

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 15 of 17

PageID #: 15

Count IV - § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
(Against Cochran and Oliver)
71.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this complaint as if fully

restated here.
72.

Plaintiff’s psychiatric conditions were impairments that substantially

limited one or more of his major life activities. Plaintiff, therefore, had a disability
within the meaning of § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
73.

Defendants receive federal funds for the Mobile County Metro Jail’s

operations.
74.

Defendants Cochran and Oliver denied plaintiff the benefits of the

jail’s protective programs on the basis of plaintiff’s disabilities.
75.

Defendants Cochran and Oliver refused to make a reasonable

accommodation for plaintiff by providing him with appropriate protection to
prevent or alleviate the likelihood of damage from an attack, even though
accommodation would in no way alter the nature of the jail.
76.

In the alternative, the Defendants Cochran and Oliver failed to

appropriately accommodate Brown who himself exhibited tendencies of a disabled
detainee.
77.

Based upon the foregoing, Cochran and Oliver violated the ADA and

plaintiff was damaged as a result.

15

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 16 of 17

PageID #: 16

RELIEF SOUGHT
78.

As relief, plaintiff seeks the following:
a.

Permit Plaintiff expedited discovery to allow the identification
of all potential defendants.

b.

Appropriate declaratory and injunctive relief to remedy the
unlawful policies and customs at the jail;

c.

That plaintiff be awarded such compensatory damages as a jury
shall determine from the evidence plaintiff is entitled to
recover;

d.

That plaintiff be awarded against the individual defendants only
such punitive damages as a jury shall determine from the
evidence plaintiff is entitled to recover;

e.

That plaintiff be awarded prejudgment and post-judgment
interest at the highest rates allowed by law;

f.

That plaintiff be awarded the costs of this action, reasonable
attorney’s fees, and reasonable expert witness fees;

g.

That plaintiff be awarded such other and further relief to which
plaintiff is justly entitled.

16

 Case 1:19-cv-00706-B Document 1 Filed 09/24/19 Page 17 of 17

PageID #: 17

Respectfully submitted this 24th day of September, 2019.
s/ Henry Brewster
Henry Brewster (BREWH7737)
HENRY BREWSTER, LLC
205 North Conception Street
Mobile, Alabama 36602
Tel: 251-338-0630
Email: hbrewster@brewsterlaw.net

Defendants May Be Served At:
Mobile County, Alabama
c/o Legal Department
205 Government Plaza
Mobile, AL 36644
Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran
510 S. Royal Street
Mobile, AL 36603
Metro Jail Warden Noah Price “Trey” Oliver, III
510 S. Royal Street
Mobile, AL 36603

17