Jail-Abuse Financial Claims on Increase

The number of civil claims alleging inmate beatings by San Diego County jail deputies has increased substantially in the past six weeks, following widespread publicity about similar allegations.

Four of the new cases were filed by families of men who allegedly died of mistreatment in the downtown jail.

The new claims allege that one inmate, a 68-year-old Alzheimer’s disease patient, died after being beaten by jail officials, and that a second victim, suffering from a kidney disease, was found dead in his isolation cell after his repeated cries for dialysis treatment went unanswered.

Case Triggered Publicity

In the first three months of this year, only six claims were filed by inmates seeking monetary damages from the county on allegations that they were beaten by deputies or provided inadequate medical care.

On March 29, Orned (Chicken) Gabriel was allegedly beaten, punched and kicked by a large group of deputies at the County Jail in El Cajon. His case touched off intense media attention, and several investigations have begun into whether widespread deputy abuse is occurring inside the six county jails.

Since Gabriel was allegedly beaten, 15 new civil claims and lawsuits have been filed against the county.

Sheriff John Duffy runs the jails, but the county Board of Supervisors eventually must decide whether individual cases have merit and whether taxpayer money should be paid out to recompense injured inmates.

During a public hearing Wednesday, the supervisors were told that, if the county has to pay out too much money to injured inmates because of an increased number of claims, the board should tell Duffy through the budget process to change his jail procedures.

“If we determine the amount we would have to pay out and the costs to the county taxpayers has increased, then that would have to enter into budget considerations,” said Supervisor Susan Golding.

Budgetary Powers Great

Deputy County Counsel Anthony Albers agreed.

“The board should never underestimate its budgetary powers,” he said. “The board always maintains responsibility for the budget.”

Duffy, who has denied that deputies are systematically brutalizing inmates, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

But Sgt. Bob Takeshta, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman, said the growing number of claims being filed simply reflects the results of the recent publicity about the alleged assaults.

“There’s been a lot of overkill on this,” he said. “And, like I think the sheriff said a couple of weeks ago, it’s the me-too theory.”

He was referring to Duffy’s recent comments that there is little merit to the growing number of allegations and that many of the inmates are coming forward now because they want to jump on the media bandwagon.

Takeshta also said the increased number of claims can be traced to the local American Civil Liberties Union. He noted that the ACLU, which is suing the county because of jail crowding, has posted notices throughout the jails, alerting inmates to their right to file civil claims against the county if they feel they have been mistreated.

County Monetary Concerns

“The ACLU has issued a mail-in campaign,” Takeshta said. “There are letters and flyers posted in the jails. These inmates are getting that kind of advice.”

Takeshta declined to comment on specific claims.

Thomas L. Brown, county claims supervisor, said he is concerned about the potential monetary liability for the county.

“My job is to handle the claims presented against the county,” he said. “I don’t want to be stingy, but my job is to act as an insurance adjuster acts, to operate fairly but as economically as possible.

“So, yes, if there’s an increase in claims, that’s something we are concerned about.”

Of the 15 new claims, the four death cases could represent the greatest liability.

In one case, Selma Engram, the mother of 51-year-old William A. Butler, is seeking an unspecified amount of money in her claim filed April 20.

The family attorney, John R. Fielding Jr., said Butler, who was unemployed and a habitual drug user, was arrested March 15 after he experienced an adverse drug reaction at a Chula Vista motel.

At the motel, Butler warned Chula Vista police, fire and ambulance officials that he was a dialysis patient and that “there was an impending doom if he was prevented from the treatment,” Fielding said.

“There was evidence of dialysis all over his body,” the lawyer said.

He said the ambulance personnel wanted Butler taken to the hospital but police decided he should go to jail because of outstanding warrants for his arrest.

“The Chula Vista police arrested Mr. Butler despite his repeated pleas that he was going to die,” Fielding said. “They transported him to the jail. They informed the jail nurse that this guy was a dialysis patient and had missed his dialysis treatment that day. And apparently he was saying he was going to die.

“The jail nurse examined him, discussed it with him, and decided it was OK for him to stay. They took him into custody.”

‘Screaming All Night Long’

Fielding said he has interviewed another inmate who said he could hear Butler calling out from his cell, pleading for help.

“He heard him screaming all night long,” the lawyer said. “He screamed, ‘Don’t let me die! Don’t let me die! I need dialysis!’

“Then, around 4 in the morning, the coroner shows up and this guy’s dead,” Fielding said. “They apparently just threw him in a cell, locked it, and left him in there to die.”

In a second case, filed April 29, Lucille Bagwell asked for $1 million from the county in the death of her 68-year-old husband, George Clayton Bagwell. The claim said he was arrested and beaten by Harbor Police at Lindbergh Field, then treated at UC San Diego Medical Center and taken Jan. 27 to the downtown jail.

Lucille Bagwell, contacted Thursday evening, declined to discuss the case, except to say: “He was an Alzheimer’s patient, and I think he just got lost in the wrong place down at the airport.”

Her claim said her husband was “‘harassed and beaten” at the jail and that his injuries--multiple lacerations and abrasions-- required more hospitalization after he was released.

“Mr. Bagwell had never been hospitalized before, but after his beatings . . . he was hospitalized twice in the month of March and died on April 23, 1988,” the claim said.

In a $500,000 claim filed May 12, the family of Javier Torres Garcia alleged he “was killed under the custody of the San Diego County Jail.”

Garcia, 34, was found hanged Feb. 27 in his downtown jail cell. According to jail officials at the time, Garcia, a San Diego resident, fashioned a rope from his bedding while other inmates slept, and hanged himself from the cell bars.

Jail officials said deputies administered first aid after discovering him during a routine security check.

The Garcia claim also alleges that jail officials failed to properly watch over inmates in the jail. Garcia was being held on a police warrant for three counts of contempt of court.

Another death case was filed April 20 by the family of Albert Manuel Varela, 28, who died Jan. 21 after an altercation with deputies who placed him in a choke hold in the downtown jail.

Varela’s death drew sharp criticism from the Hispanic community over jail practices, and the county district attorney’s office is investigating to determine whether any deputies used excessive force.

Varela was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of violating a court order. His family is seeking $8 million in damages.