Lawsuit filed by ACLU of Minnesota accuses Otter Tail County Jail of human rights violations
MINNEAPOLIS — A lawsuit filed Friday alleges nearly a dozen correctional officers at a central Minnesota jail carried out "horrendous abuse" against one of its inmates.
The ACLU of Minnesota and co-counsel Norton Rose Fulbright filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ramsey Kettle, 33, for his treatment while being held at the Otter Tail County Jail in February as a pre-trial detainee on charges that were later dropped.
Defendants in the lawsuit include multiple correctional officers at the Otter Tail County Jail who were working during Kettle's confinement as well as Otter Tail County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbon, Jail Administrator Beth Carlson and Assistant Jail Administrator Brent Floden.
A spokesperson for the county said they do not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit says staff at the Otter Tail County Jail kept Kettle in solitary confinement without food, water or appropriate medical care in "an unsanitary cell covered with human feces" for days. He was also denied the opportunity to take a daily shower, which is required by law.
Staff not only ignored Kettle as he showed increasing signs of physical and mental distress, but they also made fun of him by laughing at and mocking him, according to the ACLU. In protest, Kettle "smeared his feces on the door, including the door window, of his cell" and "threw his feces under the door of his cell, out into a common area," the lawsuit says. Water had been turned off in his cell "almost immediately" after the incident, preventing him from flushing the toilet or using the sink.
The lawsuit alleges that correctional officers let Kettle sit in his unsanitary cell for days, denying him food and water until he cleaned his cell. State regulations strictly prohibit withholding food from detainees as punishment. At one point, staff saw him "ingesting his own feces" because he was so hungry, according to an incident report.
"This case is about restoring dignity to a man who, although he was housed in a cell — for crimes that were later dropped, I might add — was no less a human being than any other. This case is about showing that such brutish tactics will not be tolerated," attorney Andy Crowder said.
Kettle, a lifelong Otter Tail County resident and citizen of the White Earth Nation, has been housed at the county jail multiple times. The lawsuit claims the defendants have been aware of his serious mental health conditions for years.
At the time of his arrival at the jail, Kettle did not receive an evaluation by a qualified mental health professional, according to court documents, and no assessment was given as to how solitary confinement would impact him given his mental illness. Minnesota law requires an inmate placed in segregated housing to be screened by a third-party medical professional within the first 24 hours.
The lawsuit also accuses the jail of falsifying records in an attempt to "cover up" the mistreatment of Kettle when a staff member reported the abuse to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Court documents show the department confirmed the abuse in a subsequent investigation, comparing surveillance footage and incident reports.
The department placed Otter Tail County Jail on condition status as a result, one of the terms being the jail limits its capacity to detain inmates.
"The failure to follow procedure for the delivery of health care services in spite of the Inmate's obviously concerning behavior is a violation of minimum standards," the Minnesota Department of Corrections wrote about the incident.
Officials ordered refresher and remedial training for jail staff, including on proper supervision of inmates, inmate rights and recognizing the signs of mental illness. It is unclear if any staff were disciplined as a result of the incident.
Kettle is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorneys' fees and costs.
