Judge asked to dismiss complaint in jail death

D.E. Smoot, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
·3 min read

Dec. 2—Lawyers representing Muskogee County entities named as defendants in a lawsuit alleging a violation of constitutional rights that resulted in the death of former inmate asked a federal judge to dismiss the complaint.

Lorena Sanchez filed the lawsuit as special administrator of her brother's estate. Court documents show her brother, Bo Michael Guthrie, 48, died on or about Jan. 13, 2020, while being treated at a Tulsa hospital for injuries sustained while he was in custody at Muskogee County/City Detention Facility.

Sheriff Andy Simmons said the inmate's death occurred while the jail was operated by a prior administration. Simmons declined to comment specifically about the lawsuit, but the sheriff said he created a full-time training position at the jail after he took office this year as a risk-reduction measure.

Guthrie, according to an amended complaint alleging a violation of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment guaranteed by the Eighth and 14th amendments, was beaten Jan. 3 by a cellmate. He was treated at a local hospital and returned to jail later that day with "instructions regarding Guthrie's medical needs and the precautions that must be taken upon" his return.

D. Mitchell Garrett, who represents Sanchez and her brother's estate, alleges in the amended complaint those precautions were ignored. Citing a doctor's notes and jail records, he alleges Guthrie "sustained an additional traumatic injury after being taken back to jail" after he was beaten and treated for injuries on Jan. 3.

An autopsy report from the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office concluded Guthrie's death was caused by complications from an injury sustained during a second assault. The manner of death, according to the complaint, was classified as a homicide.

Garrett alleged a "long-standing culture and practice of disregarding ... written policies" at Muskogee County Sheriff's Office as a "direct and proximate" cause of Guthrie's injuries and death. He also alleged a history of being "trained to engage in unnecessary and excessive force on arrestees and prisoners who pose no threat."

The complaint also names the Muskogee County Board of Commissioners as a defendant, but it includes no allegations that link the governing body to Guthrie's death. Lawyers representing the board and MCSO hone in on that fact in a motion seeking to dismiss the lawsuit.

"Here there are no specific, non-conclusory allegations of fact which affirmatively link any alleged act or omission by the Defendant Board to the alleged violation of the Decedent's constitutional rights," Jamison C. Whitson states in the motion.

Whitson goes on to note the absence of any "allegation that the Defendant Board was involved in the operation of the jail" or of the sheriff delegating to the board any authority to set policy. Whitson also points out there are no allegations of the board exercising "any de facto policy-making authority with regard to the operation of the jail."

Defense lawyers also argue MCSO cannot be sued because it "is not a legal entity subject to suit." In seeking dismissal of the complaint, they allege any attempt to amend it "would be futile."

Plaintiff will have a chance to respond before a ruling is issued.