MINNEAPOLIS— A lawsuit filed Friday alleges that nearly a dozen correctional officers at a central Minnesota prison committed “horrendous abuse” against one of the inmates.
The ACLU of Minnesota and co-counsel Norton Rose Fulbright filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ramsey Kettle, 33, for his treatment while he was held in the Otter Tail County Jail in February as a pretrial detainer on charges that were later dropped.
Defendants in the lawsuit include multiple correctional officers at the Otter Tail County Jail who worked during Kettle’s incarceration, as well as Otter Tail County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbon, jail administrator Beth Carlson and assistant jail administrator Brent Floden.
A spokesperson for the province said it does not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit says Otter Tail County Jail staff held Kettle in solitary confinement for days without food, water or appropriate medical care in “an unsanitary cell covered in human feces.” He was also denied the opportunity to shower daily, which is required by law.
The staff not only ignored Kettle as he showed increasing signs of physical and mental problems, but they also ridiculed him by laughing and mocking him, the ACLU said. In protest, Kettle “smeared his feces on the door, including the door window, of his cell” and “threw his feces under the door of his cell, in a common area,” the lawsuit said. The water in his cell was turned off “almost immediately” after the incident, leaving him unable to flush the toilet or use the sink.
The lawsuit alleges that correctional officers kept Kettle in his unsanitary cell for days and denied him food and water until he cleaned his cell. State rules strictly prohibit withholding food from inmates as punishment. According to an incident report, at one point staff saw him “swallow his own feces” because he was so hungry.
“This case is about restoring the dignity of a man who, even though he was in a cell – for crimes that were later expunged, I might add – was no less human than anyone else. This case is about demonstrating that such brutal tactics will not be tolerated,” said attorney Andy Crowder.
Kettle, a lifelong resident of Otter Tail County and citizen of the White Earth Nation, has been housed in the county jail several times. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants have known about his serious mental health issues for years.
At the time he arrived at the jail, Kettle did not receive an evaluation by a qualified mental health professional, according to court documents, and no assessment was made of the impact solitary confinement would have on him given his mental illness. Minnesota law requires that an inmate placed in segregated housing be screened by an outside medical professional within the first 24 hours.
The lawsuit also accuses the prison of falsifying records in an attempt to “cover up” Kettle’s abuse when a staff member reported the abuse to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Court records show the department confirmed the abuse in a subsequent investigationcomparing surveillance images and incident reports.
As a result, the department has placed Otter Tail County Jail on parole status, with one of the conditions being that the jail limit its capacity to hold inmates.
“Failure to follow procedure for providing health care services, despite the inmate’s clearly disturbing behavior, is a violation of minimum standards,” the Minnesota Department of Corrections wrote about the incident.
Officials ordered refresher and remedial training for prison staff, including on proper supervision of prisoners, prisoners’ rights and recognizing the signs of mental illness. It is unclear whether any staff were disciplined as a result of the incident.
Kettle is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs.
