01-2242 Butera v. Cottey

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“Butera did not even disclose in general terms that he was afraid of being assaulted. In fact, prior to summary judgment, Butera conceded that ‘prior to the assault on January 6, 1997, [he] did not report to Jack Cottey (“Cottey”) or to any personnel at the Marion County Jail that he had been threatened or assaulted in cell block 2-I.’ Further, Butera testified that no correctional officer had seen Mitchell or Eskridge threaten him. As in Lewis, because Butera did not specifically seek protection from the detainees who had assaulted him and did not disclose the specific threats that Mitchell and Eskridge had made to him, he could not demonstrate that the Sheriff was aware of a substantial risk of injury to him. See id. Further, even if Butera could show that the correctional officers knew about a risk of harm to Butera, this is not enough, without more, to impute knowledge to the Sheriff. Cf. Williams v. Heavner, 217 F.3d 529, 532 (7th Cir. 2000) (noting that municipalities are not vicariously liable for constitutional torts).”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, McKinney, J., Kanne, J.