Comrie v. John Doe/Joe Doe
- Figueredo
- 1:25-cv-03360
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Comrie v. John Doe/Joe Doe, Judge Figueredo ordered a further search to identify an unnamed jail captain.
The New York City Law Department must conduct the additional search and report its results; Robert C. Comrie will receive the results; and the unidentified captain or supervisory officer may be added as a defendant if identified.
What happened
In Comrie v. John Doe/Joe Doe, the court had previously directed the New York City Law Department to identify an unnamed warden and Captain John Doe #4911. The City said it could not confirm the captain’s identity and asked Robert C. Comrie for more information.
The court ordered the City to search again for the captain on duty near “1 Main Dayroom” at E.M.T.C., C-76, at about 10:53 a.m. on February 24, 2023. If no captain was on duty then, the City must search for the supervisory officer on duty.
Judge Valerie Figueredo ordered the City to report its search results to the court and Comrie within 30 days. After receiving that information, the court will direct the Clerk of Court to add the newly identified defendant to the complaint’s caption.
The detailed version
- Comrie v. John Doe/Joe Doe · No. 1:25-cv-03360
- Figueredo
- July 2, 2025
Background
On May 27, 2025, Judge Dale E. Ho issued an earlier Valentin order. A Valentin order directs the government or another responsible entity to help identify a defendant whose name is unknown. That order directed the New York City Law Department to provide the court and Robert C. Comrie with the real names of the EMTC warden and Captain John Doe #4911.
The City later reported that it could not confirm Captain John Doe #4911’s identity and requested additional information from Comrie.
Court’s Action
Judge Figueredo directed the City to conduct another search for the captain on duty in the area of “1 Main Dayroom” at E.M.T.C., C-76, on February 24, 2023, at approximately 10:53 a.m. If no captain was on duty at that time, the City must search for the supervisory officer on duty.
The City must provide the court and Comrie with the search results within 30 days of the order. Within 30 days after receiving that information, the court will direct the Clerk of Court to add the newly named defendant to the complaint’s caption. The Clerk must also mail the order to Comrie at the address listed in the order.
Disposition
The order directs additional efforts to identify an unnamed defendant. It does not decide the merits of Comrie’s underlying claims or enter a final judgment.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.