$2.225 Million Settlement in Failure to Protect New Mexico Prisoner

The Board of Commissioners for New Mexico’s Bernalillo County agreed to a $2.225 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that guards at its jail allowed and provoked prisoners to assault a prisoner. The complaint involved two distinct incidents.

The first incident occurred on November 18, 2008. Guard Juan Ramirez came to his post at the beginning of the shift to find prisoner Avery T. Hadley speaking to Lt. Ruben Padilla, Ramirez’s supervisor. Hadley suspected Ramirez was bringing in contraband and giving it to other prisoners, and Ramirez believed Hadley told Padilla about those suspicions.

When Padilla left the pod, Ramirez called Hadley “a rat,” and he directed a number of racial epithets at Hadley. Hadley returned the insults and racial slurs in kind. A number of prisoners heard the exchange, and they asked Ramirez to release them from their cells so they could “take care of it.”

Several hours later, Hadley’s cell door opened without warning. Prisoners George Milanez, Robert Grado, and Luis Garcia entered the cell and beat Hadley. They quit several minutes later after the cell lights flashed on and off. Ramirez responded to Hadley’s plea for help and told him that if he told anyone what happened, he would kill him.

Hadley spurred an investigation by reporting the incident to a supervisor. Ramirez denied any role in the beating. He also said he had no clue why a camera in the pod had been pointing toward the ground rather than at the cells at the time of the attack.

A second camera located on the recreation yard, however, proved Ramirez’s account to be untrue and affirmed Hadley’s account of events. It showed Ramirez facilitating the attack and signaling the attackers to cease by flashing the lights.

Confronted with video evidence, Ramirez came clean and said he sent the prisoners in to attack Hadley, “not to seriously hurt him, but to teach him a lesson.” He also conceded he did not provide Hadley aid following the attack, although Hadley received significant injuries from it. Ramirez was ultimately charged with conspiracy, aggravated battery, and kidnapping for his role in the attack. Milanez, Grado, and Garcia were charged with aggravated battery, kidnapping, and false imprisonment.

The second incident occurred in March 12, 2009. Hadley and prisoner Jesus Cordova had a confrontation over Hadley’s personal cup going missing. Cordova threatened to “shank” Hadley; he reported the threat against him and that Cordova had a shank to guard Roslyn Juanico. She took no action.

Cordova later attacked Hadley as he came out of the shower. Cordova punched Hadley, who collapsed. He then began stomping and jumping on Hadley’s head. The attacked was in plain sight of Juanico, but she made no effort to intervene or stop the attack. Hadley was beat unconscious.

He suffered life threatening injuries from that attack and spent several days in a coma. Jail staff did not contact Hadley’s family about his condition until doctors requested contact information because they feared he would die. Hadley survived the attack, but he sustained permanent injuries that will impair his daily activities for life. The civil rights complaint alleged failure to protect and a failure to train and supervise by the County. The settlement was reached in August 2012. Hadley was represented by Albuquerque attorneys Matthew L. Garcia, and Joshua R. Simms. See: Sanders v. Ramirez, USDC (D. N.M.), Case No. 1:10-cv-1075.

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