Susan Ullery v. Rick Raemisch, Et Al.
Susan Ullery v. Rick Raemisch, Et Al.
SUSAN ULLERY,
Plaintiff,
v.
Defendants.
Plaintiff, by and through her attorneys, David A. Lane and Liana Orshan of KILLMER,
LANE & NEWMAN, LLP, and Iris Eytan of EYTAN NIELSEN LLC, respectfully alleges for her First
I. INTRODUCTION
1. This is an action for damages and other relief against the prison official who
sexually assaulted Ms. Ullery while she was an inmate at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility,
and the prison officials whose actions and inactions led to the assault. Ms. Ullery was the victim
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of a system that not only looked the other way as Defendant Bruce Bradley treated inmates as
objects of his own sexual gratification, but actually set Ms. Ullery up to be sexually assaulted by
a man with a known history of a sexual misconduct. As a result, Ms. Ullery has sustained
emotional injuries.
2. This action arises under the Constitution and laws of the United States.
1343(a)(3). Jurisdiction supporting Plaintiff’s claims for attorney fees and costs is conferred by
42 U.S.C. § 1988.
of the events alleged herein occurred within the State of Colorado, and all of the parties were
residents of the State of Colorado at all times relevant to the subject matter of this First Amended
Complaint.
III. PARTIES
Plaintiff:
5. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this Complaint, Plaintiff Susan Ullery
was a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of Colorado.
6. During the relevant time period, Ms. Ullery was detained at Denver Women’s
Defendants:
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Street, Denver, CO 80239, is a prison in the Colorado state prison system. It is operated by the
Colorado Department of Corrections (“DOC”), an agency of the State of Colorado that operates
state prisons and is responsible for maintaining and providing for the care, custody, and
9. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant Rick
Raemisch was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under
color of state law in his capacity as the Executive Director of DOC. Pursuant to Colorado law,
Mr. Raemisch is the state official who manages, supervises, and controls the correctional
institutions operated by the State of Colorado, including DWCF, and who is responsible for
developing policies and procedures with respect to the operation of DOC and its facilities like
DWCF.
10. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant David
Johnson was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color
of state law in his capacity as Warden of DWCF. As the Warden, Mr. Johnson was responsible
for overseeing all operations at DWCF, including establishing procedures for the operations of
DWCF on a day-to-day basis, the hiring of prison staff, ensuring that all DWCF employees were
11. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant Terry
Jaques was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color
of state law in his capacity as Associate Warden of DWCF, which included overseeing
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12. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant Bruce
Bradley was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color
of state law in his capacity as a Correctional Support Trades Supervisor employed at DWCF.
13. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant David
Wang was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color of
14. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant David
Urich was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color of
15. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant Ramona
Avant was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color of
16. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant Scott Smith
was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color of state
17. At all times relevant to the subject matter of this litigation, Defendant Danny Lake
was a citizen of the United States and a resident of Colorado and was acting under color of state
law in his capacity as a Chief Investigator employed by DOC Office of Inspector General.
Defendant Bradley sexually harassed Ms. Ullery and other inmates at DWCF.
18. During the relevant time periods, Plaintiff Susan Ullery was incarcerated at the
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19. Early in 2014, Ms. Ullery began working in Canteen Services at DWCF. She was
primarily responsible for assisting in loading and unloading goods from trucks at the facility’s
20. Defendant Bruce Bradley was Ms. Ullery’s most senior supervisor. Ms. Ullery
had two other immediate supervisors, Defendants Corrections Officer (“CO”) David Wang and
CO David Urich, but Defendant Bradley was the highest-ranking officer in charge.
21. Approximately four months after Ms. Ullery began working on the loading dock,
22. This was not the first time that Defendant Bradley had sexually harassed female
inmates who worked for him. Witnesses observed Defendant Bradley sexually harassing female
23. Upon information and belief, female inmates previously filed complaints or
grievances against Defendant Bradley alleging sexual harassment or sexual misconduct, and he
previously had been investigated by DOC for similar conduct as that in which he engaged with
Ms. Ullery.
24. Although Defendant Bradley focused most of his harassment on Ms. Ullery, he
behaved inappropriately with the three other female inmates working with Ms. Ullery in Canteen
Services as well.
25. For instance, on one occasion, Ms. Ullery and her co-workers removed their boots
and socks to relieve the blisters that had developed on their feet while working on the dock.
Defendant Bradley closely observed the women as they removed their footwear and stared at
their bare feet at length. He then inquired as to whether the women took good care of their feet
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and whether they painted their toenails. He told them that he wanted them to wear red nail polish
26. In the following days, Defendant Bradley repeatedly told the women that it was
time for a “pedi check.” When they refused to show him their feet or did not paint their toenails,
27. Defendant Bradley also repeatedly told Ms. Ullery that his wife’s feet “turned
[him] on,” and he wanted Ms. Ullery to paint her toenails because that would sexually excite
him.
28. On at least one occasion, Defendant Bradley told Ms. Ullery about a new sex toy
that he had purchased to use with his wife. He also graphically described the sex acts that he
became so pervasive that the women who worked on the dock made an agreement that if
Defendant Bradley was ever seen talking to one of the women, another would join her so that she
would not be left alone with him and thereby vulnerable to his harassment.
30. Ms. Ullery always tried to be in the company of the other women whenever
Defendant Bradley was present in an effort to dissuade him from further sexual harassment.
31. About eight months after she began working for Canteen Services, Ms. Ullery and
the other Canteen Services workers were tasked with performing inventory, which entailed
tracking the goods in storage at DWCF. Defendant Bradley directly supervised their performance
of this task.
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32. Defendant Bradley took the opportunity to repeatedly approach Ms. Ullery from
behind and forcefully press his genitals into her buttocks. Defendant Bradley at first pretended
like he had accidentally pushed his groin against Ms. Ullery’s buttocks, but then he lasciviously
33. Defendant Bradley repeated this behavior every time that Ms. Ullery worked
inventory.
34. In an effort to escape Defendant Bradley’s constant sexual harassment, Ms. Ullery
told him that she was a lesbian. Undeterred, Defendant Bradley pivoted to a fresh line of attack
in which he would discuss with Ms. Ullery the possibility of sexual encounters involving
35. Around October 2015, two of the other female inmates in Canteen Services were
released from prison, leaving Ms. Ullery and one other female inmate under Defendant Bradley’s
supervision.
36. Knowing of Defendant Bradley’s inappropriate behavior with Ms. Ullery, the
other female inmate tried to make sure that Ms. Ullery was never alone with Defendant Bradley,
but Defendant Bradley was able to find ways to be alone with Ms. Ullery.
37. For example, Defendant Bradley called Ms. Ullery into his office on a regular
basis; as an inmate, Ms. Ullery had no option but to oblige. On one occasion, Defendant Bradley
used Facebook to show Ms. Ullery pictures of the two other inmates who had worked in Canteen
Services before their parole, and he made comments to Ms. Ullery about how great they looked.
38. After the two other inmates left, Defendant Bradley’s harassment of Ms. Ullery
began to escalate. He started to demand that Ms. Ullery show him her breasts.
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39. Defendant Bradley threatened Ms. Ullery with punishment if she refused. He told
Ms. Ullery that she was lucky to have her job with Canteen Services, and that he would remove
her from her job if she did not show him her breasts. Believing that she had no choice but to do
what he wanted because of his position of authority with DWCF, Ms. Ullery reluctantly showed
40. On another occasion, Ms. Ullery was in Defendant Bradley’s office shortly after
she had been informed of the death of a family member. Defendant Bradley suggested that him
“jacking off and [his] semen hitting [Ms. Ullery] in the face would make her feel better.”
41. Ms. Ullery’s lone remaining co-worker overheard Defendant Bradley make
similar comments to Ms. Ullery. For instance, she overheard him tell Ms. Ullery something to
the effect of “you know I shoot porno loads” and make a comment about wanting to “shove [his]
42. On still another occasion, Defendant Bradley received a voicemail from two
inmates at different facilities who were acquaintances of Ms. Ullery. He offered to let Ms. Ullery
call the offenders on his personal cell phone if she would masturbate for him; she refused.
43. Ms. Ullery repeatedly complained to David Wang and CO David Urich that
44. CO Wang and CO Urich did nothing to document Ms. Ullery’s report of
Defendant Bradley’s sexual harassment or to attempt to put a stop to it. Instead, they told her that
“that’s how he is” and to be “glad” that he “like[d] her.” One time after she complained, CO
45. In addition to hearing Ms. Ullery’s account of the harassment, CO Wang also
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Defendant Bradley’s office when Ms. Ullery was there. CO Wang heard Defendant Bradley tell
Ms. Ullery to masturbate for him. Defendant Bradley told Ms. Ullery that if she did not, he
would write her up for disobeying a lawful order, and that she would lose her parole. Ms. Ullery
responded by telling Defendant Bradley he was “fucking crazy,” and leaving his office.
46. Ms. Ullery believed that at that point, CO Wang would report Defendant
Bradley’s behavior. However, she soon realized he must not have, because nothing changed.
Defendants Avant, Jaques, Smith, and Lake set Ms. Ullery up to be sexually assaulted by
Defendant Bradley.
47. On or about April 15, 2016, Ms. Ullery met with Defendant Investigator Scott
Smith from the DOC Office of the Inspector General about an unrelated issue. Investigator Smith
met with Ms. Ullery while she was at work at Canteen Services. Ms. Ullery told Investigator
Smith that she wanted to report an incident of staff misconduct, but because she feared that
Defendant Bradley would retaliate against her if her complaint was overheard, she told
Investigator Smith that the complaint was related to someone at work, and she asked Investigator
Smith if she could speak with him at another time and location.
48. On or about April 19, 2016, Investigator Smith summoned Ms. Ullery to the
administrative offices at DWCF. Defendants shift commander Captain Ramona Avant, Associate
Warden Jaques and another representative from the Office of the Inspector General (collectively,
49. Ms. Ullery told the Investigators that her complaint was related to Defendant
Bradley; they responded by saying something to the effect of “they had assumed as much.” The
Investigators stated that DOC had received numerous complaints about Defendant Bradley
sexually harassing or assaulting inmates over the ten years that Defendant Bradley had worked at
DOC, but every time an investigation was launched, “it became a he said/she said situation.”
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They said that DOC thus had no proof that Defendant Bradley was engaged in the misconduct of
50. The Investigators made clear to Ms. Ullery that they knew that Defendant Bradley
had sexually harassed other inmates, but they wanted hard evidence of his misconduct. The
Investigators asked Ms. Ullery if she could prove her allegations of sexual harassment against
Defendant Bradley. Ms. Ullery offered to provide personal, sexual information about Defendant
Bradley that she was aware of through his previous harassment. For instance, she offered to
provide information about the type of sex toy that Bradley had given his wife.
51. The Investigators believed that it would be too “awkward” to confirm the personal
information that Ms. Ullery offered. Instead, they asked Ms. Ullery to wear a “wire” (a covert
audio recording and transmission device) and to record an act of misconduct by Defendant
Bradley.
52. At this point, Ms. Ullery had already been approved for parole and had only three
months’ imprisonment left. Ms. Ullery told the Investigators that she did not want to assist them
because it would subject her to danger both from Defendant Bradley—who had already
threatened her with the loss of her parole—and from other inmates if word got out that she wore
53. The Investigators continued to press the issue. They attempted to convince Ms.
Ullery to wear a wire by comparing her situation to that of a McDonald’s worker. If Ms. Ullery
worked at McDonald’s, the Investigators reasoned, she would file a complaint if her superior
sexually harassed her; however, this case was even worse because Defendant Bradley was a
peace officer. The Investigators told Ms. Ullery that by agreeing to the “wire operation,” she
would be saving countless other women from Defendant Bradley’s abuse and harassment.
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54. Ms. Ullery replied that she was still nervous about the potential consequences of
wearing a wire to assist in the investigation. She feared that she might be sent to solitary
confinement, that she might be branded as a “snitch,” or that she could lose her parole date.
55. The Investigators assured Ms. Ullery that they would remove her from any
situation in which she was targeted because of her cooperation with their investigation. They also
guaranteed Ms. Ullery that they would protect her from Defendant Bradley. They told her that
they would be monitoring the audio transmission from the wire and before anything in the nature
of a sexual assault could occur, officers would interfere. They then told her that they would
escort Defendant Bradley off the property immediately after the operation.
56. Ms. Ullery ultimately agreed to wear a wire because the Investigators had
guaranteed her safety and because she felt intimidated and threatened by the Investigators. She
was afraid that if she refused, her parole date would be jeopardized.
57. The Investigators decided that Ms. Ullery should not return to work, and instead
placed her in DWCF’s medical division for one or two days to prepare her for the wire operation.
58. On or about April 20, 2016, Investigator Smith briefed Defendant Chief
Investigator Danny Lake about Ms. Ullery’s complaint against Defendant Bradley and about the
planned wire operation. Upon information and belief, Chief Investigator Lake approved the
operation. He advised Investigator Smith about what type of device they would need to use so
the wire was capable of transmitting Ms. Ullery’s interactions with Defendant Bradley, rather
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After Ms. Ullery approached Defendant Bradley while wearing the wire, DOC officials did not
intervene until after Defendant Bradley sexually assaulted her.
59. On or around April 21, 2016, Ms. Ullery was fitted with a wire to attempt the wire
operation. However, Defendant Bradley was not at work that day, and the Investigators delayed
60. On or around April 26, 2016, Ms. Ullery was again fitted with a wire. Captain
Avant assisted Ms. Ullery to devise a cover to avoid the metal detector so that the wire would not
be discovered by security.
61. Ms. Ullery returned to her normal duties on the dock with the wire active; in
theory, the Investigators should have been able to hear the wire’s audio transmission in real time.
62. Sergeant Hall, who was responsible for escorting prisoners through the facility,
told Ms. Ullery that he knew something was going on, and CO Urich said that he had heard that
63. Shortly after Ms. Ullery arrived at work, Defendant Bradley paged her to report to
his office. When she arrived, Defendant Bradley was seated at his desk, and she sat down in front
of it.
64. Defendant Bradley immediately started to harass Ms. Ullery by demanding that
she show him her breasts. Despite this obvious instance of sexual harassment, none of the
Investigators or their agents entered the office to protect Ms. Ullery or remove Defendant
65. Defendant Bradley then began to chide Ms. Ullery for her reluctance to
masturbate in front of him. Again, none of the Investigators or their agents came to Ms. Ullery’s
aid in response.
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66. Still believing that the Investigators would intervene and end the encounter with
Defendant Bradley at any second, Ms. Ullery responded by asking Defendant Bradley “what was
67. Defendant Bradley became visibly angry with Ms. Ullery. He stood up, came
around the desk, backed her into a wall, forcefully thrust his hand between her legs, and started
68. Ms. Ullery expected officers to at least enter the office at this point, after the
assurances they had provided. Instead, they left her alone with Defendant Bradley for
69. Finally, after Defendant Bradley sexually harassed and assaulted her, Sergeant
70. Sergeant Hall delivered Ms. Ullery to Captain Avant; Captain Avant took Ms.
71. After the wire had been removed, Captain Avant escorted Ms. Ullery to the Shift
Commander’s Office, where she met with several of the Investigators. Ms. Ullery asked the
Investigators why it took them so long to pull her out of Defendant Bradley’s office, and they
replied that the device was not transmitting well initially. Ms. Ullery then asked if the
Investigators had gotten what they needed, and they indicated that her interaction with Defendant
Bradley had been recorded and that they would protect her from any repercussions. Captain
72. In fact, as Investigator Smith later reported, the connection between the wire
transmitting device and the listening device that the Investigators were using failed repeatedly,
and Investigator Smith was unable to hear Ms. Ullery or anyone else throughout most of the wire
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operation. Despite his clear inability to protect Ms. Ullery as he had promised, Investigator
73. Ms. Ullery never saw Captain Avant again after the wire operation concluded.
Other than removing her from her job with Canteen Services because Investigator Smith did not
want her to work with Defendant Bradley’s subordinates, no one from DOC followed up in any
way. No one spoke to her about the incident or Defendant Bradley’s repeated sexual harassment
and assault, and DOC did not provide her with any counseling.
74. To this day, no one from DOC has ever informed Ms. Ullery about the result of
her efforts.
DOC did not protect Ms. Ullery from retaliation by other inmates for her assistance in the wire
operation, even though both Ms. Ullery and her mother repeatedly complained about threats
of physical violence, including death threats, made against her.
75. The following day, Defendant Bradley was no longer on site. He was placed on
paid administrative leave on April 27, 2016; he resigned from CDOC in lieu of firing on May 31,
2016.
76. Despite the Investigators’ repeated assurances that Ms. Ullery would be protected
from any repercussions for her assistance, word quickly spread through the DWCF rumor mill
that Ms. Ullery had worn a wire and caused Defendant Bradley to lose his job.
77. Defendant Bradley had been popular among some of the inmates at DWCF
because he was willing to bend or ignore rules for them. The inmates who liked Defendant
Bradley confronted Ms. Ullery and repeatedly threatened her with physical harm. Some even
78. For instance, in May of 2016, OIG Investigator Gary Valko reviewed a separate
allegation of inappropriate sexual conduct between Ms. Ullery and another official at DWCF.
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Investigator Valko concluded that, “[I]t appears reasonable that these allegation [sic] may have
been an attempt by one or more inmates to retaliate against inmate Ullery for reporting the
79. Ms. Ullery was forced to stop leaving her unit because she feared that she would
be killed. She also stopped sleeping out of fear she would be attacked in her sleep. When she
80. Ms. Ullery could not eat because she could not go to the food hall without inmates
threatening her with physical harm. Eventually, Ms. Ullery had no option but to request to be
81. Ms. Ullery sent out dozens of written requests (“kites”) pleading for help. Ms.
Ullery’s mother even called DOC and begged officials to protect her daughter, or to transfer her.
Neither the Investigators nor anyone else ever addressed Ms. Ullery’s concerns.
82. For 90 days until she was released on parole, Ms. Ullery lived in constant fear that
83. Although Ms. Ullery was released from DWCF on June 24, 2016, the emotional
84. Ms. Ullery still has flashbacks of Defendant Bradley’s sexual assault. She
continues to suffer from nightmares and night terrors related to his conduct. She needs to
regularly take Prazosin, a prescription medication for anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder,
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85. When her flashbacks are really bad, Ms. Ullery closes herself off from everyone,
even those to whom she is closest, for days at a time. She feels humiliated and disgusted with
herself.
86. The trauma inflicted on her by Defendant Bradley has also impacted Ms. Ullery’s
relationship with her fiancé. Ms. Ullery sometimes feels disgusted when her fiancé touches her, a
problem that she had never encountered before she was sexually assaulted by Defendant Bradley.
87. Ms. Ullery’s younger sister, who is incarcerated, is continually bullied by other
inmates because of Ms. Ullery’s participation in the wire operation. Other inmates transmit
hateful messages to Ms. Ullery by giving them to her sister to pass along to her.
88. Ms. Ullery feels like she is never going to be able to heal from the pain inflicted
Guards at DWCF, including Defendant Bradley, have a history of sexual harassment and
assault of female inmates.
89. In 2009, an inmate at DWCF, “A.H.,” was awarded $1.3 million by the court
against a former DWCF guard who had repeatedly coerced her into performing sexual acts and
then raped her. The same guard had previously engaged in sexual misconduct with other female
90. Prison officials, including the Office of the Associate Warden of DWCF, the
Office of the Warden of DWCF, and the Office of the Executive Director of the Colorado
Department of Corrections, also had known of ongoing and pervasive sexual misconduct and
abuse perpetrated by DOC prison officials against inmates housed at DWCF through receipt of
letters, grievances, kites, formal complaints, and civil suits filed by DWCF inmates regarding
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91. As part of a 2009 settlement between A.H. and DOC officials, DOC agreed to
conduct supplemental annual training under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”), focused
on preventing DOC employee-on-inmate sexual contact. DOC also agreed to uphold a “zero-
tolerance” policy consistent with PREA regarding DOC employee-on-inmate sexual contact,
including mandating that DOC employees report any information regarding DOC employee-on-
92. Yet in 2011 and 2012, DWCF had the highest rate in the country of alleged
sexual assault or misconduct by correctional facility staff members against inmates, with an
estimated 10.7% of inmates claiming they were victims of sexual assault or sexual misconduct
by staff members. This rate was 4 times the national average. Of all DWCF inmates subjected to
sexual misconduct by staff, 7.3% reported they had been physically coerced or threatened with
93. Thus, despite its professed “zero-tolerance” policy in 2009, DWCF officials and
Ms. Ullery, from the known risk of sexual misconduct and assault by guards.
94. Moreover, for ten years prior to Defendant Bradley’s assault of Ms. Ullery, DOC
officials had received numerous complaints about Defendant Bradley sexually harassing or
assaulting inmates, but upon information and belief, DOC officials took no significant action in
response to these complaints. DOC officials, including Defendants Raemisch, Johnson, and
Jaques (“Supervisory Defendants”), therefore knew that Ms. Ullery and other inmates faced an
95. Supervisory Defendants failed to provide Ms. Ullery and other inmates humane
conditions of confinement by knowingly, voluntarily, recklessly and with willful disregard to the
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inmates’ personal safety allowing Defendant Bradley to continue to personally supervise female
inmates at DWCF.
disregarded and continue to disregard obvious serious risks to Ms. Ullery and other inmates
posed by widespread and pervasive sexual abuse of inmates at DWCF in the following ways:
Bradley and other prison staff, despite the obvious need to do so;
inmates have contact with guards, including the loading docks and Canteen
97. This conduct amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of the inmates
housed at DWCF, including Ms. Ullery, and was so grossly reckless that the sexual misconduct
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98. Plaintiff hereby incorporates all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
Defendant Bradley were acting under color of state law at all times relevant to this action.
100. Defendant Bradley purposefully and knowingly used physical force against Ms.
Ullery by touching her breasts, pressing his groin against her, and forcibly grabbing and fondling
101. Defendant Bradley’s use of force against Ms. Ullery caused her unnecessary and
wanton pain.
102. Defendant Bradley’s use of force against Ms. Ullery had no legitimate
penological purpose.
103. The force used by Defendant Bradley against Ms. Ullery thus was used
Defendant Bradley for sexual misconduct against inmates, the need for additional and effective
training, supervision, and discipline of Defendant Bradley regarding sexual acts with inmates
was obvious.
risk of harm to Ms. Ullery, and other inmates housed at DWCF, by continuing to employ
Defendant Bradley at DWCF in a position where he could sexually harass/assault inmates like
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Ms. Ullery despite the multiple inmate complaints against him for sexual abuse and thus the
known and obvious risk of substantial harm Defendant Bradley posed to inmates, including Ms.
Ullery.
106. Moreover, for years before Ms. Ullery’s assault, Supervisory Defendants knew of
and failed to take reasonable measures to abate the substantial risk of serious harm to inmates
107. It would have been obvious to those in Supervisory Defendants’ positions that
inmates at DWCF, including Ms. Ullery, faced a substantial risk of serious harm from sexual
abuse by staff.
Ms. Ullery and other similarly situated inmates by failing to implement practices, policies and
procedures that protected inmates, including Ms. Ullery, from the substantial risk of serious harm
posed by prison staff using their positions to sexually harass and assault inmates.
109. The Supervisory Defendants, by and through their official duties within DOC,
failed to properly train, supervise, and/or discipline their employees, including Defendant
Bradley, CO Urich, and CO Wang, regarding sexual assault and harassment of inmates resulting
110. In light of the post-2009 history of widespread and persistent sexual abuse by
DWCF staff against inmates, the need for additional and effective training, supervision, and
111. Supervisory Defendants thus knew that their acts or omissions were substantially
certain to cause DWCF officials, and/or Defendant Bradley in particular, to violate the
constitutional rights of inmates like Ms. Ullery to be free from excessive force in the form of
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sexual abuse, and Supervisory Defendants consciously or deliberately chose to disregard this risk
of harm in failing to provide and/or in deliberately choosing not to provide additional effective
training, supervision, and discipline of guards and/or Defendant Bradley regarding sexual acts
with inmates.
112. Therefore, Supervisory Defendants set in motion a series of events that they
knew would cause an inmate in a similar situation as Ms. Ullery to be deprived of her
constitutional right to be free from excessive force; but for the above acts or omissions of
Supervisory Defendants, Ms. Ullery would not have been subjected to a violation of her
constitutional rights; and such a deprivation was a natural and foreseeable consequence of these
113. Supervisory Defendants’ failure to properly train, supervise, and discipline their
employees, including Defendant Bradley, was the proximate cause of the violation of Ms.
114. Defendant Bradley’s and the Supervisory Defendants’ actions and inactions were
taken in reckless and callous indifference to the federally protected rights of Ms. Ullery.
115. The acts or omissions of Defendant Bradley and Supervisory Defendants were the
legal and proximate cause of Ms. Ullery’s damages in that she suffered physical intrusion into
bodily privacy and integrity, humiliation, and mental and emotional pain and anguish, and
continues to suffer mental and emotional pain and anguish to this day and likely for the rest of
her life.
116. As a direct and proximate cause and consequence of the unconstitutional policies,
procedures, customs, acts, inactions, and/or practices described above, Ms. Ullery suffered and
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117. Plaintiff hereby incorporates all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
118. Defendants Bradley, Raemisch, Johnson, and Jaques were acting under color of
119. By sexually harassing and assaulting Ms. Ullery without her consent, Defendant
Bradley violated Ms. Ullery’s right to be secure in her bodily integrity, a liberty interest
120. Defendants Raemisch, Johnson, and Jaques recklessly, with conscious disregard
to the serious and obvious risk to the safety of inmates like Ms. Ullery, violated Ms. Ullery’s
right to be secure in her bodily integrity by allowing pervasive sexual abuse by prison personnel
unsupervised access to female inmates, with, and in spite of, the knowledge
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121. Supervisory Defendants, by and through their official duties within DOC, failed
to properly and effectively train, supervise, and/or discipline their employees, including
of Ms. Ullery’s bodily integrity and a deliberate indifference to the substantial risk of serious
122. Supervisory Defendants knew that their acts or omissions were substantially
certain to cause DWCF officials to violate constitutional rights of inmates like Ms. Ullery to be
free from secure in their bodily integrity, and Supervisory Defendants consciously or deliberately
chose to disregard this risk of harm in failing to provide and/or in deliberately choosing not to
provide additional effective training, supervision, and discipline of guards, and/or Defendant
123. In light of the duties and responsibilities of DOC personnel who exercise control
over individuals incarcerated at DWCF, and the post-2009 history of sexual abuse by guards
against inmates, the need for training, supervision and discipline regarding sexual acts with
inmates was so obvious, and the inadequacy of appropriate hiring, training, and/or supervision
was so likely to result in the violation of constitutional rights, such as those described herein, that
Supervisory Defendants’ failure to appropriately train and/or supervise DOC personnel like
Defendant Bradley and his direct supervisors constituted deliberate indifference to the rights of
and obvious risk of harm to Ms. Ullery, and other inmates housed at DWCF, by continuing to
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inmates like Ms. Ullery despite the multiple inmate complaints against him for sexual abuse and
thus the known and obvious risk of substantial harm Defendant Bradley posed to inmates,
125. Supervisory Defendants, by and through their official duties within DOC,
implement effective practices, policies, and procedures that would have protected inmates,
including Ms. Ullery, from the substantial and known risk of serious harm posed by Defendant
Bradley and other prison personnel using (and abusing) their authority and influence to sexually
abuse inmates.
126. Supervisory Defendants set in motion a series of events that they knew would
cause an inmate in a similar situation as Ms. Ullery to be deprived of her constitutional right to
be secure in her bodily integrity; but for the above acts or omissions of Supervisory Defendants,
Ms. Ullery would not have been subjected to a violation of her constitutional rights; and such a
deprivation was a natural and foreseeable consequence of these acts and omissions.
127. Such policies, as well as Defendants’ actions and inactions violated Ms. Ullery’s
substantive due process right to bodily integrity under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution.
128. Defendant Bradley’s and the Supervisory Defendants’ actions and inactions were
taken in reckless and callous indifference to the federally protected rights of Ms. Ullery.
129. When viewed in total, this conduct is outrageous and shocks the conscience.
Among other things, despite Supervisory Defendants’ knowledge of continuing and pervasive
sexual assault by guards against inmates at DWCF since the 2009 rape of A.H., Supervisory
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Defendants failed to take appropriate actions to protect inmates like Ms. Ullery, even knowing
the severe harm that befell A.H. from the same failures years before.
130. The acts or omissions of Defendant Bradley and Supervisory Defendants were the
legal and proximate cause of Ms. Ullery’s damages in that she suffered physical intrusion into
bodily privacy and integrity, humiliation, and mental and emotional pain and anguish, and
continues to suffer mental and emotional pain and anguish to this day and likely for the rest of
her life.
131. As a direct and proximate cause and consequence of the unconstitutional policies,
procedures, customs, and/or practices described above, Ms. Ullery suffered and continues to
132. Plaintiff hereby incorporates all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
133. Defendants Jaques, Smith, Avant, and Lake were acting under color of state law
134. By taking Ms. Ullery into custody, and thereby assuming control over her and
depriving her of her liberty to care for herself, Defendants created a special relationship with Ms.
Ullery that required them to assume an affirmative duty of care and protection with respect to
Ms. Ullery.
135. By using her as bait in the wire operation, Defendants Jaques, Smith, Avant, and
Lake (“Wire Operation Defendants”) created the danger that caused Ms. Ullery to be sexually
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136. The Wire Operation Defendants’ conduct put Ms. Ullery at substantial risk of
serious, immediate, and proximate harm of sexual assault by telling her to engage Defendant
Bradley so that he would commit an act of sexual misconduct they could record.
137. The Wire Operation Defendants further put Ms. Ullery at substantial risk of
serious, immediate, and proximate harm by telling her they would protect her from Defendant
Bradley but failing to intervene once it became clear the wire recording device was not
transmitting clearly and/or after hearing audio indications that Defendant Bradley was sexually
138. Ms. Ullery was a member of a limited group of individuals put by the Wire
139. The substantial risk of harm to Ms. Ullery from being sexually assaulted by
Defendant Bradley during the wire operation was obvious and known to the Wire Operation
Defendants.
140. By proceeding with the wire operation despite the complaints from Ms. Ullery
and other inmates regarding Defendant Bradley’s sexual misconduct towards them—and
informing Ms. Ullery they needed to record an instance of such sexual misconduct—the Wire
Operation Defendants acted recklessly in conscious disregard of the known, obvious, and
substantial risk that Defendant Bradley would sexually assault Ms. Ullery during the wire
141. The Wire Operation Defendants’ conscious choice to proceed with the wire
operation once it became clear that they could not clearly hear Ms. Ullery’s interaction with
Defendant Bradley and/or once they heard indications Defendant Bradley was or likely was
about to sexually assault Ms. Ullery was also reckless and in conscious disregard of the known,
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obvious, and substantial risk that Defendant Bradley would sexually assault Ms. Ullery before
142. When viewed in total, the Wire Operation Defendants’ conduct is outrageous and
143. The Wire Operation Defendants’ actions and inactions violated Ms. Ullery’s
substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
144. The Wire Operation Defendants’ actions and inactions were taken in reckless and
145. The acts and/or omissions of each Wire Operation Defendant were the legal and
proximate cause of Ms. Ullery’s damages in that she suffered physical intrusion into bodily
privacy and integrity, humiliation, and mental and emotional pain and anguish, and continues to
suffer mental and emotional pain and anguish to this day and likely for the rest of her life.
146. As a direct and proximate cause and consequence of the unconstitutional acts
described above, Ms. Ullery suffered and continues to suffer injuries, damages and losses as set
forth herein.
147. Plaintiff hereby incorporates all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
148. Defendants Jaques, Smith, Avant, and Lake (“Wire Operation Defendants”) were
acting under color of state law at all times relevant to this action.
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149. Ms. Ullery engaged in the protected activity of petitioning the government and
engaging in free speech by complaining to Investigator Smith about Defendant Bradley’s sexual
150. The Wire Operation Defendants were aware that Ms. Ullery engaged in this
protected activity.
151. In response to Ms. Ullery’s complaints, the Wire Operation Defendants used her
as bait in the wire operation, directly placing her in harm’s way from the same individual about
152. The Wire Operation Defendants’ actions would have chilled a person of ordinary
firmness from continuing to engage in protected speech, including bringing her complaints to
153. But for Ms. Ullery’s protected speech, the Wire Operation Defendants would not
have placed Ms. Ullery in substantial danger of being sexually assaulted by Defendant Bradley
through the wire operation, and Ms. Ullery’s protected speech was a motivating and substantial
154. The Wire Operation Defendants acted with malice and reckless indifference to
155. As a result of the Wire Operation Defendants’ actions, Ms. Ullery suffered a
violation of her First Amendment rights, humiliation, and mental and emotional pain and
anguish.
156. The acts and/or omissions of each Wire Operation Defendant were the legal and
proximate cause of Ms. Ullery’s damages in that she suffered physical intrusion into bodily
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privacy and integrity, humiliation, and mental and emotional pain and anguish, and continues to
suffer mental and emotional pain and anguish to this day and likely for the rest of her life.
157. Plaintiff hereby incorporates all other paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set
forth herein.
158. Defendants Urich and Wang were acting under color of state law in their actions
159. Under the Eighth Amendment, Defendants Urich and Wang had a duty to protect
Ms. Ullery, as a prisoner in custody of DWCF, from harm at the hands of other DWCF guards or
employees.
160. Based on complaints by Ms. Ullery and other facts and circumstances, Defendants
Urich and Wang knew that Defendant Bradley presented an excessive risk to Ms. Ullery’s safety.
161. Despite their knowledge that Defendant Bradley presented an excessive risk to
Ms. Ullery’s safety, Defendants Urich and Wang made a conscious and deliberate decision not to
take any action to protect Ms. Ullery from sexual misconduct by Defendant Bradley.
162. Defendants Urich’s and Wang’s conscious and deliberate decisions not to take
any action to protect Ms. Ullery from sexual misconduct by Defendant Bradley put Ms. Ullery at
163. Defendants Urich’s and Wang’s conscious and deliberate decisions not to protect
Ms. Ullery, despite knowledge of the risk to her safety from Defendant Bradley, constitute
deliberate indifference to and willful and wanton disregard of the substantial risk of serious harm
to Ms. Ullery, thereby depriving Ms. Ullery of life’s necessities and failing to provide her
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164. By consciously and deliberately failing to take any action to protect Ms. Ullery
from the known and substantial risk of serious harm posed by Defendant Bradley, Defendants
Urich and Wang knowingly, intentionally, willfully and maliciously disregarded the obvious
serious risks of bodily injury to Ms. Ullery, failed to provide humane conditions of confinement,
deprived Ms. Ullery of life’s necessities, and violated Ms. Ullery’s Eighth Amendment right to
be free from cruel and unusual punishment, resulting in substantial harm to Ms. Ullery.
165. The acts and omissions of Defendant Wang’s and Urich’s were engaged in
166. Defendants Wang’s and Urich’s actions and inactions were taken in reckless and
167. The acts and/or omissions of Defendants Urich and Wang were the legal and
proximate cause of Ms. Ullery’s damages in that as a result of Defendants Urich’s and Wang’s
failure to protect Ms. Ullery, she suffered physical intrusion into bodily privacy and integrity,
humiliation, and mental and emotional pain and anguish, and continues to suffer mental and
emotional pain and anguish to this day and likely for the rest of her life.
168. As a direct and proximate cause and consequence of the unconstitutional acts
described above, Ms. Ullery suffered and continues to suffer injuries, damages and losses as set
forth herein.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court enter judgment in her
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distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, and other pain and suffering on all
determined at trial;
(e) Attorney fees and the costs associated with this action on all claims allowed by
law;
(g) Any further relief that this court deems just and proper, and any other relief as
_s/_David A. Lane___________________
David A. Lane
Liana Orshan
KILLMER, LANE & NEWMAN, LLP
1543 Champa Street, Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80202
(303) 571-1000
[email protected]
[email protected]
Iris Eytan
EYTAN NIELSEN LLC
3200 Cherry Creek South Drive, Ste. 720
Denver, CO 80209
(720) 440-8155
[email protected]
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