DOCKET NO.CV 02 0821661)SUPERIOR COURT

)

ELAINE WISEMAN, ADMINISTRATOR)

OF THE ESTATE OF BRYANT)

WISEMAN, )

PLAINTIFF,)

)

vs.)

)

JOHN J. ARMSTRONG; JACK TOKARZ; )

DR. WILLIAM JOUGHIN; DR. REGINALD)JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF

HOFFLER; OSCAR MALDONADO; MICHAEL)

A. PACE; KEVIN COWSER; JAMES E.)

REILLY; DONALD J. HEBERT; ROBERT )

G. STACK; JOSE ZAYAS; KEVIN J. )

DANDOLINI; ANGELO P. GIZZI; EDWIN)

MYERS; WILLIAM SMITH; VAUGHN )

WILLIS; BRIAN C. BRADWAY; FRANK)

MIRTO, in their individual and )HARTFORD AT HARTFORD

official capacities; and )

IRIS PRESCOTT; ANDRE CHOUINARD;)

WILLIAM SCOTT; STEVEN SANELLI; )

JIMMY GUERRERO; JEFFREY HOWES; )

MAURELLIS POWELL; DENNIS CAMP; )

RAYMOND BRODEUR; MOISES PADILLA; )

ANNE MARIE STOREY; ROBERTA C.)

LEDDY; CLO BARSOTTI; GINGER)

BOCHICCHIO; GAIL N. FREDETTE; DR.)

MINGZER TUNG, in their individual )

capacities; and CONNECTICUT)

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION; STATE OF)

CONNECTICUT; UNIVERSITY OF )

CONNECTICUT HEALTH CENTER; GARNER )

CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION,)

)

DEFENDANTS.)NOVEMBER 11, 2003

AMENDED REVISED COMPLAINT

1.This Complaint concerns the brutal death of a young mentally ill man at the hands of the correctional officers and medical workers charged with his supervision and care.

2.On November 17, 1999, 28-year old Bryant Wiseman died while incarcerated at the Garner Correctional Institution.

3.Bryant was mentally ill, and at the time of his death he had been diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

  1. Notwithstanding Bryant’s mental illness, however, the Department’s doctors, nurses and other medical workers failed and refused to provide adequate and proper medical care, supervision and medication to him, they allowed his mental illness to go untreated and inadequately treated, and they permitted him to decompensate and to become paranoid and aggressive under circumstances that they knew would lead to violent confrontations with other inmates and correctional staff.
  2. On November 17, 1999, after several days during which his doctors intentionally withheld required anti-psychotic medication, Bryant’s untreated mental illness caused him to become paranoid and disruptive, and as could and should have been expected, he was subsequently violently subdued and restrained by more than eight correctional officers and other Department staff.
  3. Beginning at approximately 12:45 p.m., in a mental health cell at the Garner Correctional institution, the officers and staff piled on top of Bryant, handcuffed him behind his back, put him in leg irons, savagely beat him, asphyxiated him, caused him to vomit, rendered him unconscious and comatose, and ultimately killed him.
  4. The guard’s violent and savage assault on Bryant Wiseman and his brutal death at their hands unfortunately is not an isolated incident at the Department of Correction. Seven months before Bryant was killed, another young mentally ill man, Timothy Perry, was killed by guards under similar circumstances while in custody at a facility of the Department of Correction.
  5. As with Bryant Wiseman, Timothy Perry’s schizophrenia caused him to become paranoid and aggressive, and he was killed by guards while being violently subdued and restrained in a mental health cell.
  6. Following Timothy Perry’s death, however, none of the guards and medical workers responsible for his death told the truth about how he was killed or otherwise notified Department officials of the immediate need for Department-wide training in the treatment and supervision of mentally ill inmates and proper take-down and restraint procedures.
  7. Moreover, following Timothy Perry’s death, neither the Commissioner of the Department of Correction nor any other Department official conducted an adequate investigation and review of Timothy’s death or of Department procedures to ensure that proper training was conducted and to avoid further injury and death to mentally ill inmates such as Bryant Wiseman.
  8. As a result of the above failings, no adequate training was conducted, no precautionary procedures were instituted, no required monitoring and supervision of correctional staff was contemplated, and, as could and should have been expected and prevented by Department officials, Bryant Wiseman was killed in a nightmarish reenactment of Timothy Perry’s death only a few months earlier.
  9. This Complaint seeks redress from the persons and entities responsible for the care and treatment of this State’s mentally ill inmates and for Bryant Wiseman’s anguish, injuries and death.

PARTIES

13.Plaintiff ELAINE WISEMAN, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF BRYANT WISEMAN, is Bryant Wiseman’s mother. The Fiduciary’s Probate Certificate appointing ELAINE WISEMAN as the Administrator is attached hereto.

14.Defendant JOHN J. ARMSTRONG is, and was at all relevant times, the Commissioner of the CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION. As such, he was responsible for the administration of this State’s correctional system, the care and custody of persons incarcerated by the DEPARTMENT, and the hiring, supervision, training, discipline and control of persons working for the DEPARTMENT. He is sued in his individual and official capacities.

15.Defendant JACK TOKARZ is, and was at all relevant times, the Deputy Commissioner of the CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION in charge of the Programs and Staff Development Division. As such, he was responsible for the administration of this State’s correctional system, the care and custody of persons incarcerated by the DEPARTMENT, and the hiring, supervision, training, discipline and control of persons working for the DEPARTMENT. He is sued in his individual and official capacities.

16.Defendant STATE OF CONNECTICUT is a governmental entity, and is the proper party against which suit may be brought pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes §§ 4-141, etseq.

17.Defendant CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, acting through its agents, representatives and employees, was responsible for the care, custody and treatment of Bryant Wiseman at all relevant times mentioned herein.

18.Defendant UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HEALTH CENTER was at all relevant times responsible for providing medical, mental health and psychiatric care, services and supervision to persons in the custody of the CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, including Bryant Wiseman.

19.Defendant GARNER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION is the CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION facility where Bryant Wiseman was incarcerated prior to and at the time of his death on November 17, 1999.

20.Defendants MICHAEL A. PACE, KEVIN COWSER, JAMES E. REILLY, DONALD J. HEBERT, ROBERT G. STACK, JOSE ZAYAS, KEVIN J. DANDOLINI, ANGELO P. GIZZI, EDWIN MYERS, WILLIAM SMITH, VAUGHN WILLIS, BRIAN C. BRADWAY, and FRANK MIRTO were correctional officers, supervisors and other staff assigned on November 17, 1999 to the GARNER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION. The defendants in this paragraph are collectively referred to as the “WISEMAN CORRECTIONAL EMPLOYEE DEFENDANTS.” They are sued in their individual and official capacities.

21.Defendants IRIS PRESCOTT, ROBERTA C. LEDDY, CLO BARSOTTI, GINGER BOCHICCHIO, GAIL N. FREDETTE and DR. MINGZER TUNG were medical workers assigned on November 17, 1999 to the GARNER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION. At relevant times, some or all of these defendants were employed by the UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HEALTH CENTER. They are sued in their individual capacities.

22.Defendants DR. WILLIAM JOUGHIN, DR. REGINALD HOFFLER and OSCAR MALDONADO are the doctors and social worker responsible for treating, monitoring and managing Bryant Wiseman’s mental illness at the CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION prior to his death. At relevant times, some or all of these defendants were employed by the UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HEALTH CENTER. They are sued in their individual and official capacities.

23.Defendants ANDRE CHOUINARD and WILLIAM SCOTT were Lieutenants at the CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION who, on April 12, 1999, seven months before Bryant Wiseman was killed, were responsible for the death of Timothy Perry, another mentally ill man in the custody of the DEPARTMENT. Defendants STEVEN SANELLI, JIMMY GUERRERO, JEFFREY HOWES, MAURELLIS POWELL, DENNIS CAMP, RAYMOND BRODEUR, and MOISES PADILLA were correctional officers responsible for the death of Timothy Perry. Defendant ANN MARIE STOREY was a nurse employed by the UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HEALTH CENTER who was also responsible for the death of Timothy Perry. The Defendants in this paragraph are collectively referred to as the “PERRY CORRECTIONAL EMPLOYEE DEFENDANTS.” They are sued in their individual capacities.

FACTS

24.At all times mentioned herein, each individual Defendant was acting in the course and scope of his or her employment.

25.At all times mentioned herein, each defendant was acting under color of state law.

26.Bryant Wiseman was incarcerated at the CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION for several years before he was killed on November 17, 1999.

27.Bryant was diagnosed by his doctors at the DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

28.It was well-known to all of Bryant’s doctors, nurses and other medical workers, including his treating psychiatrists defendants DR. WILLIAM JOUGHIN and DR. REGINALD HOFFLER, and his assigned social worker defendant OSCAR MALDONADO, that Bryant required adequate and proper anti-psychotic medication in order to control his schizophrenia, to enable him to function properly and to prevent his becoming paranoid, aggressive and disruptive.

29.Notwithstanding this knowledge, DR. WILLIAM JOUGHIN, DR. REGINALD HOFFLER, OSCAR MALDONADO and the other doctors and medical workers responsible for Bryant’s well-being failed and refused to prescribe and administer adequate and proper anti-psychotic medications. Specifically, at various times during Bryant’s incarceration at the DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION up until the time of his death, these defendants: (a) prescribed and administered inadequate amounts of anti-psychotic medication (including Prolixin Decanoate and Prolixin HC1); (b) prescribed and administered no anti-psychotic medications; and (c) failed and refused to medicate Bryant against his will, even though, due to Bryant’s mental illness, he was incapable of caring for his own medical and medication needs.

30.The types of medications prescribed for Bryant, the dosage levels for those medications, and the time periods during which those medications were prescribed were all inadequate to properly treat Bryant’s illness and to control his paranoia and aggression.

31.As a result of these defendants’ failure and refusal to prescribe and administer adequate and proper anti-psychotic medications during the period of Bryant’s incarceration at the DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION and up until the time of his death, his mental illness went substantially untreated, and he suffered frequent episodes of decompensation and resulting paranoia, fear, and aggression

32.Also as a result of substandard medical care, monitoring and supervision, Bryant frequently became non-compliant even with those anti-psychotic medications that were prescribed for him, and, as a result of this non-compliance, he suffered paranoia and other psychotic symptoms, and consequently engaged in assaultive, impulsive and aggressive behavior toward other inmates and staff.

33.Bryant’s need for anti-psychotic medications, his potential for non-compliance, and the resulting risk of aggression, were all well known to his doctors and other medical workers.

34.A November 14, 1996 clinical record entry by defendant DR. JOUGHIN, for example, states that “The large issue is [Bryant’s] inclination to be off medication, and problems around non-compliance → decompensation, paranoia and violence towards others.”

35.Similarly, a November 26, 1996 clinical entry by DR. JOUGHIN states that “the patient’s need for medication is clear – in terms of his paranoia and related hostility when off medications....”

36.A clinical record entry by defendant social worker MALDONADO on November 26, 1996 similarly states ”This inmate has a history of poor compliance with medications. In the past he has decompensated rapidly whenever he stops taking his medications. He has the potential to become assaultive. Therefore his medication intake needs to be monitored regularly.”

37.During the period of his incarceration at the DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, Bryant suffered repeated episodes of becoming noncompliant with his psychotropic medications, of decompensating and becoming paranoid and violent as a result, of engaging in aggressive behavior, of being restrained by correctional staff, and of having his medications subsequently monitored or even administered against his will.

38.These repeated episodes of noncompliance, aggression, restraint, and subsequent medication were well-known to Bryant’s treating psychiatrists and to the other doctors, nurses and medical staff who had responsibility for treating and managing Bryant’s mental illness, including defendants JOUGHIN, HOFFLER, MALDONADO and PRESCOTT.

39.For example, in November 1996, after having refused his medications for several days, Bryant became paranoid and he assaulted another inmate. Correctional officers restrained him, and his treating psychiatrist, DR. JOUGHIN, subsequently ordered that Bryant be given anti-psychotic medication against his will if he continued to refuse voluntary medication. A Supervisory Review of the incident determined that “Wiseman had not been taking his medications regularly, and this could have triggered his violent outbursts.”

40.For another example, in January 1998, Bryant was found fighting in his cell and was restrained by correctional staff. For days prior to the incident, he had been non-compliant with his psychotropic medication. On January 21, 1998, medical staff at the DEPARTMENT ordered that Bryant be forcibly medicated due to his “history of assaultive behavior when not on medication.”

41.For another example, in October 1999, just weeks before his death, Bryant again refused to take his anti-psychotic medications and he became gravely disabled and acutely agitated as a result. Bryant’s treating psychiatrist at the time, DR. REGINALD HOFFLER, confined Bryant to his cell and noted that Bryant has a history of “extreme agitation” and that he is a “danger to self or others when in psychotic state.”

42.Notwithstanding Bryant’s profound and well-documented need for anti-psychotic medication, his well-documented potential for rapid decompensation, paranoia and aggression in the absence of such medication, and the fact that any such aggressive behavior would lead inevitably to Bryant being forcibly subdued and restrained by one or more correctional officers and other custodial staff, incredibly, on November 1, 1999, just days before Bryant’s death, defendant DR. HOFFLER ordered that Bryant’s anti-psychotic medication be “discontinue[d] if [patient] remains noncompliant.”

43.Following DR. HOFFLER’s astounding order, Bryant, as he had on numerous prior occasions, became non-compliant with his anti-psychotic medication, and he refused to take the required dosages numerous times between November 1 and November 15. Pursuant to DR. HOFFLER’s order, Bryant’s anti-psychotic medication was then discontinued on November 15, 1999.

44.There was no valid medical reason for discontinuing Bryant’s anti-psychotic medication; DR. HOFFLER’s order was a grave and unforgivable breach of the standard of care.

45.As a result of the discontinuance of his medication, and as a result of the failure of his doctors, nurses and other medical workers to properly monitor and evaluate his condition, Bryant rapidly decompensated and became aggressive. His propensity for rapid decompensation and immediate aggression was well-documented in the clinical record, and it should have been anticipated and prevented by Bryant’s doctors and nurses.

46.On November 16, 1999, DR. HOFFLER examined Bryant and wrote in the clinical record that Bryant had been exhibiting “bizarre behavior” for the past two days and was “possibly decompensating.”

47.HOFFLER ordered the nurse to “refer inmate to psychiatrist tomorrow a.m.,” but, incredibly, HOFFLER and the other medical workers responsible for Bryant’s care failed and refused to schedule an immediate psychiatric consultation for Bryant, and they failed to do anything to ensure that Bryant was promptly given anti-psychotic medication, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

48.In the morning of November 17, 1999, Bryant continued to show signs of psychosis and paranoia, and at approximately 9:40 a.m., Correctional Officer James Santopietro told the DEPARTMENT’s mental health staff that Bryant was “acting bizarre.” However, notwithstanding all of the evidence to the contrary, including the specific written medical evaluations described above, mental health staff responded that Bryant “was fine.”

49.As could and should have been expected, several hours later on November 17, 1999, two days after DR. HOFFLER inexplicably and unforgivably discontinued Bryant’s anti-psychotic medication, Bryant followed the same pattern of rapid decompensation, paranoia and aggression that he had followed numerous times in the past, he got into an altercation with a fellow inmate, and he was forcibly restrained and subdued by correctional staff.

50. This time, however, due to a profound lack of training in how to properly manage mentally ill inmates, and due to the officers’ violent, unrestrained and excessive use of force against Bryant, something went terribly wrong.

51.At approximately 12:45 p.m., in Cell 520 on the Inpatient Medical (IPM) Unit of the GARNER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, more than eight correctional officers and other custodial staff (the WISEMAN CORRECTIONAL EMPLOYEE DEFENDANTS): forced Bryant into a face-down “hog tie” position with his feet up on the bed, his torso down on the floor, and his hands shackled behind his back; placed his legs in leg irons; brutally and repeatedly beat him on the backs of his legs, his stomach, his shins and other parts of his body; attacked and used extreme and excessive force against him; utterly compromised his respiratory system and asphyxiated him; caused him to vomit and to bleed from his mouth; rendered him unconscious and comatose; and ultimately killed him.

52.Specifically, in the course of subduing and restraining Bryant, the defendants perpetrated the following acts, among other things:

  1. defendant Correctional Officer MICHAEL A. PACE forcibly pressed Bryant’s head and shoulders against the cell floor;
  2. defendant Lt. KEVIN D. COWSER held Bryant’s upper torso and left arm, applied handcuffs to Bryant’s wrists, and forcibly pinned Bryant’s upper torso to the floor by pressing his knee on Bryant’s shoulder;
  3. defendant Correctional Officer JAMES E. REILLY held Bryant’s right arm and wrist while Lt. COWSER applied hand cuffs, and he held Bryant’s upper body to the cell floor by pressing on Bryant’s arms and by pressing his knee on Bryant’s back;
  4. defendant correctional counselor DONALD J. HEBERT, who was acting CTO for the IPM Unit, savagely and repeatedly beat Bryant with hammer-type strikes to his body while the other defendants held Bryant down;
  5. defendant Lt. ROBERT G. STACK held Bryant’s right leg and applied leg irons to both legs;
  6. defendant Correctional Officer JOSE ZAYAS grabbed Bryant’s legs by the ankles, held his left foot, and, after the leg irons were applied, continued to hold on to the leg iron chain;
  7. defendant Correctional Officer KEVIN J. DANDOLINI grabbed Bryant’s right leg and ankle, and beat Bryant’s left leg with a closed fist; and
  8. defendant Correctional Officer ANGELO P. GIZZI knelt on the back of Bryant’s legs and held Bryant’s ankles.

53.Defendants Captain EDWIN MYERS, Correctional Officer WILLIAM SMITH, Correctional Officer VAUGHN WILLIS, Correctional Treatment Officer BRIAN C. BRADWAY and Correctional Training Officer FRANK MIRTO also participated in, witnessed, and failed and refused to stop the assault on Bryant.