Sheriff’s Dept. Sued in Arrestee’s Death
The widowed mother of seven children filed a wrongful death suit Tuesday against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, claiming that her husband died after a beating by deputies who arrested him on a false drunk-driving charge.
Cora Galbert and her children said in their Superior Court suit that Otis Robinson was arrested for driving under the influence on June 8, 1985, but a later toxicological test showed no evidence of alcohol in his body.
After his arrest, he was beaten about the head and neck, then taken to the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center, where he was left for an hour and 15 minutes without medical attention, the suit said. Robinson, who had a spinal fracture, died June 10, 1985.
Dr. Mark Yellin, the County-USC physician who allegedly examined Robinson and cleared him for booking, is also a defendant in the suit.
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