The Region - News from Aug. 9, 1985

A $137,500 out-of-court settlement was recommended by the Los Angeles County Claims Board in the case of a Northern California truck driver who committed suicide after being released from jail because he was not properly arraigned. Dana Renee Johnson of Walnut Park sued the county on behalf of herself and her daughter after a $1-million claim was denied. The body of Michael Johnson, 32, was found beside a Los Angeles International Airport parking structure on May 7, 1980, five days after he was arrested for driving the wrong way on the Antelope Valley Freeway and told officers that he was trying to kill himself. Although placed in a special County Jail section for suicidal prisoners, he had to be released when sheriff’s deputies mistakenly transferred him to the wrong court for arraignment. The proposed settlement, forwarded by the county counsel’s office, must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.