Murdock v. City of Keene

This interlocutory transfer without ruling from the Superior Court (McGuire, J.) presents the question of whether a jailer having physical custody and control over a prisoner may be liable in tort for injuries sustained by that prisoner in his attempt to commit suicide. We hold that a jailer may be liable if the jailer’s reckless conduct proximately causes injury to the prisoner.

In December 1989, the plaintiff, John R. Murdock, was arrested in Keene for operating a motor vehicle after the revocation of his license. While incarcerated in the jail of the Keene Police Department, he attempted…