Prisoners Accuse Orange County of Torture in Lawsuit

Accusing guards of beating and torturing prisoners and otherwise violating their civil rights, Orange County Juvenile Hall and Jail inmates this week sued the county, Sheriff-Coroner Brad L. Gates and Chief Probation Officer Dr. Michael A. Schumacher.

The suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, says two Juvenile Hall inmates were “assaulted, beaten and tortured by the guards there more times than (they) can remember.”

Juvenile Hall authorities issued a flat denial Friday of allegations in the lawsuit, including charges that prisoners had been tied to their beds in painful positions as punishment.

Schumacher, whose probation office runs Juvenile Hall, described its staff in a prepared statement as “dedicated, humane, well trained professionals who provide a high level of service to the courts and to the County of Orange.”

But Schumacher was not available for questions about the lawsuit. A spokesman for his office, Thomas J. Hinkle, said Schumacher would have no further comment until he has had a chance to review the lawsuit.

The suit alleges that a Juvenile Hall policy of tying prisoners to their beds as punishment has caused spinal injuries and is inhumane, because juveniles are not permitted to use the bathroom during the periods of punishment and must eat with one hand still tied down.

The lawsuit was filed by Newport Beach lawyer Harry Lerner on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California. The suit seeks an end to the alleged practices.

Included are complaints from 11 inmates at the Orange County Jail who claim a variety of civil rights violations, including having their mail tampered with, inadequate medical care and bad food.

sh Noise Complaints

They also complain of harassment from the sheriff’s deputies in charge of the jail, claiming that they are deprived of sleep by deputies who “hammer on the doors of their cells and flash the lights on and off.”

The suit also alleges that inmates at Juvenile Hall in Orange have been “smothered to the point of unconsciousness” by guards after complaining of bad treatment.

Juvenile Hall officials in the past have said they do tie down some of the wards who cause them problems.

Gordon S. McDowell, supervising probation counselor, told The Times in May that some wards “just want to fight. . . .”

“You can talk and talk and talk, but sometimes it’s not going to get you anywhere,” he said.

These prisoners, McDowell said, are tied to their bedposts. But he added that “we don’t use shackles or leather restraints.”

Juvenile Hall has been troubled this year because of overcrowding. Several months this year its 334-inmate capacity has been exceeded, sometimes by more than 50 extra inmates.

Many of the complaints in this week’s lawsuit have been raised in previous ACLU lawsuits dating back to 1978, when U.S. District Judge William P. Gray issued a sweeping order directed at reducing overcrowding in the jail, improving meals and enforcing an inmate’s right to eight hours of sleep.

sh Bland Mixture

As a result of one ACLU lawsuit, Sheriff Gates agreed three years ago to inform state corrections officials before serving any punishment meat loaf, a bland mixture served to inmates who have caused disciplinary problems at the jail.

This week’s lawsuit includes numerous complaints of assaults by jail deputies--an ongoing ACLU complaint against Gates’ operation of the jail in recent years, although Gates has not been criticized as a result of any official inquiry into alleged jail beatings.

The Orange County Grand Jury and the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles have conducted long inquiries into complaints of beatings in recent years. The grand jury found the complaints groundless. The U.S. attorney’s office issued a statement two years ago that it found no grounds for filing charges against any deputies, without commenting on whether more than 50 complaints about jail beatings had any validity.

Gates could not be reached for comment Friday, but his office has a general policy of not commenting on ACLU lawsuits.