Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Kentucky at Bowling Green.
No. 1:19-cv-00073—Gregory N. Stivers, District Judge.
Argued: October 28, 2021
Decided and Filed: March 24, 2022
Before: CLAY, GIBBONS, and BUSH, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Bretton Westmoreland was arrested and
detained at the Butler County Jail, where he was attacked by another detainee for being a
“snitch.” Westmoreland sued the jail and Rocky Tyree, an employee, for failure to protect under
42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court granted summary judgment to the Butler County Jail and
Tyree, holding that because Westmoreland did not suffer a constitutional violation, Tyree was
entitled to qualified immunity and the jail could not be held liable. Westmoreland appeals,
arguing the district court used the incorrect test to evaluate his claim. Because our court recently
determined that Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015), requires modification of the
subjective prong of the deliberate indifference test for pretrial detainees, we vacate the district
court’s grant of summary judgment and remand Westmoreland’s claims for proceedings
consistent with Brawner v. Scott County, Tennessee, 14 F.4th 585 (6th Cir. 2021). |
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