On Aug. 21, 2001, plaintiff Charles Davis, 45, an inmate at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, and his fellow inmates filed a group appeal alleging that Correctional Officer Kissinger improperly targeted black inmates and deliberately attempted to provoke them by searching their cells, using racial slurs against them, and withholding and contaminating their food. Two days after the appeal was filed, Kissinger was going to place handcuffs on Davis and his cellmate so that he could take them to use the shower. Davis asked to have the handcuffs placed above a brace he was wearing on his left wrist, but as soon as he put his hand through the tray slot and Kissinger touched Davis’ wrist, Davis pulled his hand back into the cell. Kissinger told Davis that he was going to have to write him up and then called an extraction team to Davis’ cell, claiming that Davis had assaulted him. When the extraction team arrived, Davis presented Sergeant Peery with an inmate appeal, but Peery refused to take it at that time and told Davis, “Put your arms through the tray slot.” Davis again asked to have the handcuffs placed above his wrist brace, which Peery did. However, Davis claimed Peery pulled on the cuffs, hurting his wrist. According to Davis, Correctional Officers Kissinger, Baker and Qualls, and Sergeant Money stood by as the incident occurred and took no action. Peery and Qualls then escorted Davis out of the unit for an interview regarding the alleged assault on Kissinger. During the escort, Davis told Peery and Qualls that he was having back problems and that Kissinger was allegedly a Ku Klux Klansman. Once Davis arrived at the program office, he was placed in a cage. He then stopped Lieutenant Ingwerson and told her that he knew that she was aware of the numerous complaints against Kissinger. As she was responding to him, Money told Davis to leave his lieutenant alone. The medical technical assistant on duty that day, Garrison, ultimately made a notation in the medical report that Davis was having difficulty standing in the cage. Davis was later placed in administrative segregation. Davis filed an inmate appeal complaining about Kissinger’s conduct and asking prison officials to keep Kissinger away from him. He also asked Peery to recuse himself from responding to the appeal because he had a similar complaint against him, but Peery refused. Davis, currently 58, sued Kissinger, Baker, Qualls, Money, Ingwerson, Garrison and Peery (who was initially erroneously sued as “Peay”). He also sued Lieutenant Norlin and Warden D.L. Runnels. Davis alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted racial intimidation, excessive force, violations of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, and deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. Davis also asserted claims of racial intimidation and violence in violation of the California Bane and Ralph Acts, and California Civil Code § 43. Norlin and Runnels were ultimately dismissed after pretrial motions. Davis claimed that after he initially asked to have the handcuffs placed above his wrist brace, Kissinger grabbed his left wrist, began bending it and put pressure directly on his injury. He claimed that as a result, he pulled his arm back into the cell, causing Kissinger to say he was going to write him up and call an extraction team to tell them he was assaulted. Davis alleged that when the extraction team arrived, he presented Peery with the inmate appeal, but that Peery refused to take it and just yelled at him to put his arms through the tray slot. He claimed that although Peery did place the cuffs above his brace, as he requested, Peery then pulled on the cuffs as hard as he could, bending and twisting his wrist and applying pressure to his injury. Davis claimed that Kissinger, Baker, Qualls and Money just stood by as this was going on and took no action. He also claimed that while he was being escorted by Peery and Qualls, he told them he was having back problems and that Kissinger was a Ku Klux Klansman, but that in response, Qualls and Peery jerked his arms up and caused him to suffer immediate back spasms. Davis also claimed that after he was place in a cage and he was talking with Ingwerson, Peery uttered racist comments toward him. He further claimed that the medical technical assistant, Garrison, ignored his repeated requests for pain and blood pressure medication, and refused to let him see a doctor. Davis alleged that Garrison also would not come near the cage to observe and make a notation of the indentation on his wrist. In addition, Davis claimed that after he was placed in administrative segregation, Kissinger came to his cell and took out his handcuffs stating, “Hey Davis, remember these,” and began to laugh. The plaintiff’s court-appointed, pro bono counsel argued that Kissinger engaged in racial intimidation that led to a group appeal against him on Aug. 21, 2001, after Kissinger deliberately provoked black inmates by searching their cells while they were on lockdown status, just days after a previous search; using racial slurs; and routinely withholding food or spitting in inmates’ food before delivering it. He also argued that Kissinger used excessive force against Davis on Aug. 23, 2001, when Kissinger pulled Davis’ arm through the food tray slot in the cell door while handcuffing him and deliberately put pressure on Davis’ injured wrist, in violation of Davis’ Eighth Amendment rights. Counsel further argued that excessive force was used by Baker, Peery, Qualls and Money during a cell extraction on Aug. 23, 2001, after Kissinger falsely claimed that Davis had assaulted him, in violation of Davis’ Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. In addition, counsel argued that Ingwerson, Money, and Peery failed to properly supervise their subordinates during the cell extraction on Aug. 23, 2001, in violation of Davis’ Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that after Davis was removed from his cell on Aug. 23, 2001, Davis was placed in a holding cage where Garrison, Money, and Ingwerson denied him medication for pain and high blood pressure. He also contended that Garrison refused to examine Davis or allow him to see a doctor in deliberate indifference to Davis’ serious medical needs and in violation of Davis’ Eighth Amendment rights. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel argued that Kissinger, Peery, and Qualls deprived him of equal protection of the laws and violated federal criminal laws when they subjected Davis to racially-motivated excessive force. Defense counsel contended that handcuffs were applied to Davis’ wrist in compliance with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation policies and procedures. Counsel argued that Davis was provided with an appropriate medical evaluation after the incident and that Davis did not timely comply with the California Government Tort Claims Act, so the claims asserted under California law should be dismissed. A captain of the CDCR also testified regarding prison procedures. The defense’s medical expert, a family practitioner who is Chief Medical Executive of High Desert State Prison, opined that Garrison did not exhibit deliberate indifference in regard to Davis’ complaints. He also opined that Davis’ were not consistent with the alleged use of excessive force., On Aug. 23, 2001, Davis saw a physician and told him that he had a long history of back problems and that he had re-injured his left wrist. Davis was examined and provided with pain medication to treat his wrist and back pain. He claimed he told the physician the medication did not help, but the physician still ordered the medication for him. On Nov. 30, 2001, Davis submitted a medical request to see a doctor after he was released from administrative segregation. On Dec. 27, 2001, he saw a physician who diagnosed him with a left wrist sprain and a lower-back aggravation. The physician then referred him for casting of his left wrist and for physical therapy to treat his wrist and back. Defense counsel argued that Davis sustained, at most, a minor aggravation of a pre-existing condition, which was inconsistent with a use of excessive force. Counsel contended that Davis was provided with an appropriate medical evaluation after the incident, that Davis did not require any medical treatment, and that Davis was provided with appropriate medication within an hour of the incident. The defense’s expert family practitioner testified regarding the nature and extent of Davis’ , and opined that Davis’ were not consistent with the use of excessive force.