Washington v. Johnson

Background

Landon L. Washington, who was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island in pretrial detention, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that, beginning January 11, 2022, defendants denied him access to religious services and a place to worship, and served him cold food.

Washington named the City of New York; Captain Smart, identified as an area supervisor at the Eric M. Taylor Center, where Washington had previously been detained; and C.O. Johnson, identified as the Eric M. Taylor Center’s food-service officer. Washington said he complained to Captain Smart about access to religious services and was told that she did not control the jail’s staff shortage. He said he complained to Officer Johnson about the cold food and was told that the food was transported from and made at the Anna M. Kross Center. Washington did not state when he was transferred from the Eric M. Taylor Center to the Anna M. Kross Center.

The court had previously allowed Washington to proceed without prepaying filing fees. It then screened his prisoner complaint under the federal prisoner-screening statutes.

Cold-Food Claim

The court treated Washington’s allegation about cold food as a conditions-of-confinement claim under the Fourteenth Amendment. For such a claim, a pretrial detainee must allege an objectively serious condition and that the defendants should have known the condition posed an excessive risk to health or safety.

The court held that Washington did not state such a claim against Officer Johnson. It found that he alleged only that the food was cold, not that it was rotten or uncooked, that it made him sick, that it caused him harm, or that defendants knew of and ignored a health risk. The court concluded that food being served cold did not rise to the level of a constitutional violation and dismissed the cold-food claim against Officer Johnson. It directed the Clerk of Court to dismiss Officer Johnson from the action.

Religious-Services Claim and Service

The court did not dismiss the access-to-religious-services claim in this order. Instead, it requested that the City of New York and Captain Smart waive service of summons and directed the Clerk of Court to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department of the order.

Disposition

The court dismissed Washington’s cold-food claim against Officer Johnson and directed the Clerk to dismiss that defendant from the action. It requested that the City of New York and Captain Smart waive service of summons as to the access-to-religious-services claim. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer signed the order.