REYNOLDS v. BROWNING et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
TERRE HAUTE DIVISION
ANGELO REYNOLDS, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	No. 2:25-cv-00168-JPH-MG
)
BRYCE BROWNING, et al., 	)
)
Defendants. 	)
ORDER SCREENING AMENDED COMPLAINT AND DIRECTING
FURTHER PROCEEDINGS
Plaintiff Angelo Reynolds is a prisoner currently incarcerated at Wabash
Valley Correctional Facility ("Wabash Valley"). He filed this civil action under 42
U.S.C. § 1983, which originally alleged 25 purported causes of action against 26
defendants. Dkt. 1. The Court screened and dismissed the original complaint for
violating Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 18 and 20 but gave Mr. Reynolds the
opportunity to file an amended complaint. Dkt. 15. He has done so. Dkt. 16.
Because the plaintiff is a "prisoner," this Court must screen the amended
complaint before service on the defendants. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), (c).
I. Screening Standard
When screening a complaint, the Court must dismiss any portion that is
frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, or seeks monetary relief
against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). To
determine whether the complaint states a claim, the Court applies the same
standard as when addressing a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6). See Schillinger v. Kiley, 954 F.3d 990, 993 (7th Cir. 2020).
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Under that standard, a complaint must include "enough facts to state a claim to
relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570
(2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content
that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable
for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). The
Court construes pro se complaints liberally and holds them to a "less stringent
standard than pleadings drafted by lawyers." Cesal v. Moats, 851 F.3d 714, 720
(7th Cir. 2017).
II. The Amended Complaint
Mr. Reynolds attached 66 pages of exhibits to his amended complaint.
Although the Court may consider documents attached to a complaint, it is a
plaintiff's burden to plead a short and plain statement of the claim. Fed. R. Civ.
P. 8(a)(2); Williamson v. Curran, 714 F.3d 432, 436 (7th Cir. 2013). These exhibits
appear to be evidence in support of the claims alleged in his amended complaint.
To consider the exhibits at this point would circumvent the "simple and plain
statement requirement" of Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
and impose an unjustified burden on the Court. The Court will not sift through
these documents and try to discern their potential relevance at the pleading
stage. Kadamovas v. Stevens, 706 F.3d 843, 844 (7th Cir. 2013) (stating that
attachments to a complaint may be stricken).
Mr. Reynolds's factual allegations are accepted as true at the pleading
stage. See Lisby v. Henderson, 74 F.4th 470, 472 (7th Cir. 2023). The amended
complaint names as defendants (1) Officer Bryce Browning; (2) former Wabash
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Valley Warden Frank Vanihel; (3) Sgt. Everado Angeles-Mora; (4) John Allen; (5)
Lt. Timothy1 Leffler; (6) Centurion Health; (7) John VanVleet; (8) Dr. Samuel
Byrd; (9) Officer Jane Tomas; (10) Sara Bedwell; and (11) Nurse Makayla Willis.
Between May 31 and October 23, 2024, Mr. Reynolds was housed in
Wabash Valley's SCU. During that time, Mr. Reynolds filed several grievances
about conditions in the SCU. Lt. Leffler called Mr. Reynolds a "snitch" in front of
other inmates and encouraged them to throw feces and hot water on him. Mr.
Reynolds also communicated in writing to Warden Vanihel about Lt. Leffler's
statements but received no response. Mr. Allen and Mr. VanVleet, internal affairs
officers at Wabash Valley, also failed to respond to Mr. Reynolds's complaints
and threats against him.
Two days after being released back into general population, two inmates
attacked Mr. Reynolds, including stabbing him in the face. Officer Browning did
not attempt to intervene in this assault; instead, he called an emergency signal
that erroneously directed Wabash Valley personnel to the other side of the
prison. Lt. Leffler and Sgt. Angeles-Mora eventually came to take Mr. Reynolds
to medical after cuffing him. While taking him there, Lt. Leffler joked that Mr.
Reynolds had been "fucked up good," and "that didn't take long," and that's what
Mr. Reynolds deserved "for putting all them grievances in on him." Dkt. 16 at 2.
When he arrived at medical, Nurse Willis apologized for medical being
confused because of Officer Browning's incorrect emergency signal. Nurse Willis
and Dr. Byrd treated Mr. Reynolds's open cheek wound by, among other things,
1 Mr. Reynolds originally indicated that Lt. Leffler's first name was John.
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attempting to stitch it closed. However, even though the wound continued
bleeding profusely, Dr. Byrd refused to provide any more treatment and told Mr.
Reynolds that the wound should heal on its own. Lt. Leffler and Sgt. Angeles-
Mora then escorted Mr. Reynolds back to his cell, with Lt. Leffler apparently
joking about the fact that Mr. Reynolds's face wound was still bleeding.
After being in his cell for about an hour and still bleeding profusely from
his face and mouth, Mr. Reynolds was beginning to feel dizzy. Mr. Reynolds's
cellmate repeatedly attempted to get Officer Tomas to seek additional medical
attention for Mr. Reynolds, but she refused, even though she saw the profuse
bleeding. Eventually, Mr. Reynolds lost consciousness, falling and hitting his
head on the ground. Even after Officer Tomas and Officer Browning saw Mr.
Reynolds on the ground unconscious, they did not attempt to get additional
medical treatment for him. Mr. Reynolds's cellmate had to call the Wabash Valley
tipline asking for medical assistance. Sgt. Angeles-Mora then immediately came
and called for medical assistance after seeing Mr. Reynolds. After Mr. Reynolds
regained consciousness and after cuffing him and threatening to spray him with
mace if he did stop fighting back, Officer Browning, Sgt. Angeles-Mora, and a
third officer took Mr. Reynolds to a unit medical room.
The nurse in the unit medical room directed that Mr. Reynolds be taken
to the main medical office, where Dr. Byrd, Nurse Willis, and Ms. Bedwell were
present. Nurse Willis was instructed, presumably by Dr. Byrd, to start Mr.
Reynolds on an IV, remove the poorly-done stitches, and pack the face wound
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with gauze. Mr. Reynolds then had to be taken to an outside hospital, where he
received adequate treatment of his face wound.
III. Discussion of Claims
Applying the screening standard to the factual allegations in the amended
complaint, certain claims are dismissed while other claims shall proceed as
submitted.
First, private corporations acting under color of state law—including those
that contract with the state to provide essential services to prisoners—are treated
as municipalities for purposes of Section 1983 and can be sued when their
actions violate the Constitution. Dean v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., 18 F.4th
214, 235 (7th Cir. 2021) (citing Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658
(1978)). To state a Monell claim, the plaintiff must identify an action taken by the
municipality and allege a causal link between the municipality's action and the
deprivation of federal rights. Dean, 18 F.4th at 235. "A municipality 'acts'
through its written policies, widespread practices or customs, and the acts of a
final decisionmaker." Levy v. Marion Co. Sheriff, 940 F.3d 1002, 1010 (7th Cir.
2019). 	Mr. 	Reynolds 	has 	not 	identified 	any 	policy, 	practice, 	or 	custom 	of
Centurion's that caused him injury. All claims against Centurion are dismissed.
Second, 	"individual 	liability 	under 	§ 	1983 	. 	. 	. 	requires 	personal
involvement in the alleged constitutional deprivation." Colbert v. City of Chicago,
851 F.3d 649, 657 (7th Cir. 2017) (internal quotation omitted). "The plaintiff
must demonstrate a causal connection between (1) the sued officials and (2) the
alleged misconduct." Id. For a public official to be individually liable for a
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subordinate's constitutional violation, the official must both "(1) know about the
conduct and (2) facilitate, approve, condone, or turn a blind eye toward it."
Gonzalez v. McHenry County, Ill., 40 F.4th 824, 828 (7th Cir. 2022). Here, there
are 	insufficient 	allegations 	that 	either 	Ms. 	Bedwell 	or 	Sgt. 	Angeles-Mora
personally engaged in any conduct that harmed Mr. Reynolds. At most, Ms.
Bedwell was present when Mr. Reynolds was being treated the second time by
Dr. Byrd and Nurse Willis. As for Sgt. Angeles-Mora, he was the officer who
eventually and speedily sought medical attention for Mr. Reynolds when he
passed out in his cell. Sgt. Angelo-Mora also was present and assisting on some
occasions when escorting Mr. Reynolds back and forth to his cell, but there are
insufficient allegations that Sgt. Angeles-Mora engaged in any unconstitutional
conduct on those occasions. All claims against Ms. Bedwell and Sgt. Angeles-
Mora are dismissed.
Third, negligence is not sufficient to support a § 1983 claim based on
alleged deliberate indifference in violation of the Eighth Amendment. See Huber
v. Anderson, 909 F.3d 201, 208 (7th Cir. 2018) (deliberate indifference "requires
more than negligence or even gross negligence; a plaintiff must show that the
defendant was essentially criminally reckless, that is, ignored a known risk.")
(cleaned up). The allegations against Nurse Willis are that she did a poor job
attempting to stitch up his face wound. This alleges, at most, negligence on her
part, which is insufficient to state an Eighth Amendment claim. Also, the
allegations indicate that Dr. Byrd, not Nurse Willis, had the final say on whether
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Mr. Reynolds required more or better medical treatment when he was sent back
to his cell. All claims against Nurse Willis are dismissed.
The claims that shall proceed are the following:
• 	First Amendment retaliation claims against Lt. Leffler.
• 	Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference to safety claims against Lt.
Leffler for calling Mr. Reynolds a "snitch" in front of other inmates.
• 	Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claims against Lt. Leffler, former
Warden Vanihel, Mr. Allen, and Mr. VanVleet.
• 	Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference to safety claims against Officer
Browning for failing to take action to stop the assault on Mr. Reynolds.
• 	Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference to medical needs claims against
Officer Browning, Officer Tomas, and Dr. Byrd.
This summary of claims includes all of the viable claims identified by the
Court. 	All 	other 	claims 	have 	been 	dismissed. 	If 	the 	plaintiff 	believes 	that
additional claims were alleged in the complaint, but not identified by the Court,
he shall have through March 2, 2026, in which to file a motion to reconsider
the screening order.
IV. Conclusion and Service of Process
The clerk is directed to terminate Everado Angeles-Mora, Makayla Willis,
Jane Bedwell, Centurion Health, John Fischer, Richard Yarber, Jane Wadhwan,
Natash 	English, 	Ashely 	Moseley, 	John 	Mallot, 	John 	Pickett, 	John 	Dugger,
Michael Ellis, John Hiatt, John Payne, Jane Riggs, Jane Moody, John Gilstrap,
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and Jane Meeks as defendants on the docket. The clerk is directed to change
the name of defendant "John Leffler" to "Timothy Leffler."
The clerk is directed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3) to issue process
to defendants Timothy Leffler, Frank Vanihel, John Allen, John VanVleet, Bryce
Browning, Jane Tomas, and Dr. Samuel Byrd in the manner specified by Rule
4(d). Process shall consist of the amended complaint filed on November 18, 2025,
dkt. [16], applicable forms (Notice of Lawsuit and Request for Waiver of Service
of Summons and Waiver of Service of Summons), and this Order.
Defendant Dr. Byrd is identified as an employee of Centurion. A copy of
this 	Order 	and 	the 	process 	documents 	shall 	also 	be 	served 	on 	Centurion
electronically. Centurion is ORDERED to provide the full name and last known
home address of any defendant who does not waive service if they have such
information. This information shall be filed ex parte.
The clerk is directed to serve the Indiana Department of Correction and
Centurion employees electronically.
Nothing in this Order prohibits the filing of a proper motion pursuant to
Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
SO ORDERED.
Date: 2/9/2026
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Distribution:
Electronic service to Indiana Department of Correction:
Officer Bryce Browning
Lt. Timothy Leffler
John Allen
John VanVleet
Officer Jane Tomas
Former Warden Frank Vanihel
(All at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility)
Electronic service to Centurion
Dr. Samuel Byrd
ANGELO REYNOLDS
228386
WABASH VALLEY - CF
Wabash Valley Correctional Facility
6908 S. Old US Hwy 41
CARLISLE, IN 47838
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