LONG BEACH : AIDS Patient Sues County, Citing Mistreatment in Jail

A Long Beach man with AIDS has filed a federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the Sheriff’s Department, charging that he was denied crucial medication during a stint in County Jail facilities last year.

Activists and attorneys for Michael W. Kolcum, 38, maintain that the case represents a pattern of mistreatment of people with AIDS and HIV in the County Jail system. “This is a concrete example of outrageous conduct on the part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” said Lorri L. Jean, executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, which demanded an investigation into the treatment of people with AIDS.

A Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

Kolcum, who was in County Jail for about nine days in February, 1993, on a drunk driving charge, says county workers repeatedly ignored his requests for AZT and made disparaging comments about his homosexuality. He received only one AZT tablet during that time, when he should have received 54 tablets, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.