Pizzuto v. County of Nassau.

• Position: Cases of wrongful death - Brief Article

U.S. District Court

OFFICER ON PRISONER ASSAULT

WRONGFUL DEATH

Pizzuto v. County of Nassau, 239 F.Supp.2d 301 (E.D.N.Y. 2003). Family members of a county corrections inmate who was fatally beaten by corrections officers sued the officers involved in the incident, the officers' supervisors, and the county, alleging that they were liable under federal and state law for the inmate's murder. The court held that the officers who pleaded guilty or were convicted in connection with the conspiracy could not dispute their [section] 1983 liability, and were liable for deliberate indifference to the inmate's serious medical needs. The court found the officer who watched the beating was liable for being deliberately indifferent to a serious risk of harm to the inmate. The court held the supervisor liable for supervisory liability under [section] 1983 based both on his personal involvement and on the acts of his subordinates. The inmate had been sentenced to ninety days in jail on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of methadone. Upon admission to the county correctional facility, the inmate was assigned to a single...