Idaho prisoner says IDOC retaliated after he ‘dared to speak out’ about broken hand
Bobby Templin had been suffering for months with a broken hand while incarcerated in an Idaho prison when he shared his story with the Idaho Statesman. His thumb had been broken as prison staff tried to get a prisoner fight under control in January 2023, and he wasn’t seen by a surgeon for six months.
His story was published in the Statesman in mid-October. Seven weeks later, the Idaho Department of Correction filed a felony criminal charge against him over allegations that he punched an IDOC officer during the fight — a claim Templin disputes. Templin was charged with battery against a correctional officer and, if convicted, could face up to another five years in prison.
Templin now alleges the charge was filed in retaliation against him.
Templin’s lawyer, Mike French, has filed a motion to dismiss the case and said the Department of Correction was retaliating against the prisoner because he “dared to speak out against the persistent medical neglect he suffered at the hands” of the agency.
Ada County has until June 21 to respond. Ada County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Emily Lowe in an email declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
The Idaho Department of Correction did not respond to a request for comment.
Versions of fight, hand injury differ
Templin and IDOC tell different versions of the fight and of how the prisoner broke his hand.
According to the motion to dismiss, Templin and other prisoners had been drinking, playing cards and watching football on Jan. 29. Templin was on the second-floor balcony overlooking the prison dayroom when he was approached by alleged gang members who accused him of stealing their alcohol, the filing said.
Templin said the two men physically attacked him, prompting other gang members and members of a rival gang to join the fray. The document said more than a dozen prisoners joined the fight, and an IDOC incident report identified 13 prisoners, including Templin, who were part of the brawl. A Statesman review of court records showed none of the other prisoners have been charged in connection with the incident.
An Ada County Sheriff’s Office report on the incident said a correctional officer reported approaching Templin, who was “compliant” and lying prone on the ground. When the officer reached Templin, the report said, the prisoner turned around and struck the officer in the head and neck with a closed fist.
Templin’s attorney said any contact was incidental, and argued that the fight had continued around Templin while he was vulnerable on the floor and defending himself when the officer made contact.
“Uncertain of who was holding and dragging him, in a defensive maneuver, Bobby reached behind his head to try to swat away the person on his back,” French wrote in the motion.
Prison officials said the metacarpal intra-articular base fracture, sometimes called a Bennett or Rolando fracture, to Templin’s thumb was caused by Templin repeatedly punching a wall. Templin denied that account. He said he felt his hand snap when he was dragged from the dayroom by correctional officers while lying on his back, with his hands handcuffed behind him.
Records showed the break wasn’t treated for six months. When Templin saw a specialist at a St. Luke’s hospital in July, the doctor reported his hand — which he had repeatedly complained to prison staff about — had healed with a deformity. One expert told the Statesman a fracture like Templin’s could put him at high risk for arthritis and potentially cause persistent chronic pain.
Prisoner’s attorney alleges retaliation
Templin’s attorney said in the motion to dismiss filing that IDOC officials only began communicating with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office about potential charges against Templin when they learned the prisoner was talking to a Statesman reporter.
The court document said IDOC referred its investigation of the fight to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office “for review and follow-up” the first week of October. The same day, an IDOC investigator emailed a sheriff’s detective for information on the case and noted, “We have a news outlet requesting information about this case.” The Statesman story was published Oct. 12.
Templin’s attorney said the timing was suspect, since no additional action had been taken regarding the fight in eight months.
“It is seemingly apparent that IDOC urged the ACSO to (re)commence its investigation into criminal charges against Bobby in retaliation for Bobby speaking to a reporter about IDOC’s medical negligence,” the court document said. “Suddenly, Ada County — whose sheriff had not even bothered to gather IDOC’s investigative reports about the fight for over eight months — charged Bobby with this (weak) felony case.”
In an emailed statement, Templin’s attorney reiterated his innocence and said she looks forward to the opportunity to present her argument to a judge or jury.
