Agencies Found Not Liable in Suit Over Alzheimer’s Victim’s Death

Harbor Police, sheriff’s deputies and the county of San Diego were absolved of negligence by a Superior Court jury this week in the death of a 78-year-old Alzheimer’s patient who was arrested three years ago for fighting with security guards at Lindbergh Field.

The jury voted, 10 to 2, to absolve the defendants in the death of George Bagwell, whose wife, son and daughter sued for $300,000 in damages.

The family maintained that injuries Bagwell suffered at Lindbergh Field and later in County Jail led to his death three months later.

“It was a big decision about whether to fight this,” said Bagwell’s son, George. “We had to raise our voice. It was a cause for our family and took three years to get through, at considerable finance. And we lost.”

George Bagwell, who had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for years, drove to Lindbergh Field in January, 1988, from his home in Clairemont, thinking his son was due to arrive on a flight. In fact, his son was driving into town.

Bagwell entered a security area and didn’t respond when Harbor Police and Wackenhut Corp. security guards called to him.

According to the lawsuit, guards beat and kicked Bagwell. Attorneys for the county and the San Diego Unified Port District, which operates the airport, said Bagwell punched a guard in the face and was arrested after being wrestled to the ground.

At the time of the incident, Bagwell was wearing a medical bracelet that explained his health problems, and he had further details about his condition inside his billfold.

After being treated at Sharp Memorial Hospital, Bagwell was taken to County Jail, where he was placed in a “quick-release” cell reserved for those held temporarily until they can be picked up. Because he was trying to leave the cell each time the door opened, he was chained at the waist.

Deputy County Counsel Thomas S. Palmer said Bagwell rushed the cell door at one point while a deputy was trying to slam it shut. The door hit Bagwell and he fell backward onto his head, Palmer said. He was returned to the hospital.

The lawsuit said Bagwell suffered lacerations and injuries to the face, scalp, arms and body, which lead to his death in April, 1988.

Bagwell’s son said his father was about 130 pounds and 5-foot-7, hardly a threat to sheriff’s deputies or Harbor Police.

“My father was in an area he shouldn’t have been,” Bagwell Jr. said. “At his advanced age, his hearing wasn’t good. He got into trouble with the authorities. But he had never been in trouble with the law, he raised a family, he worked hard, he was a veteran of World War II and he was a little confused. That confusion led to fear. In the San Diego jail, he suffered a beating that we believe contributed to his death.”

Medical experts testified at trial that Bagwell contracted pneumonia that eventually lead to cardiac arrest. Other doctors said the stress of the incident led to his swift downfall.

“I never thought there was negligence here,” county attorney Palmer said. “I also knew there was nothing malicious done to Mr. Bagwell. Nothing that happened on Jan. 27 caused Mr. Bagwell’s death.”

Bagwell Jr. said his father’s mental and physical health declined rapidly in the months after his arrest, and that he will never be convinced that his father’s injuries did not contribute to his quick deterioration.

“My father was hospitalized twice in the same afternoon, and he dies three months later,” he said. “We know in our hearts that what happened directly contributed to his death. He did not die in their hands but died soon thereafter.”

In some ways, Bagwell Jr. said, his family suffered twice. When his father came down with Alzheimer’s, the family had to grasp its significance. At times, George Bagwell struggled to get out of the house at all hours until the family barricaded the doors. Although he was physically fit, Bagwell was often confused and fearful.

Bagwell Jr. said the verdict was the second disappointment, although the family has no misgivings.

“I don’t know that anyone in our family has ever sued anyone, not even my father,” he said. “But, when I talked to my mother earlier today, we agreed that this was the sort of fight that had to be made. Even if we lost.”