SANTA ANA : 2 Inmates Allege Deputies Beat Them

Two County Jail prisoners alleged that they received broken bones and other injuries following beatings by sheriff’s deputies while the prisoners were confined to disciplinary isolation.

In a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court, attorney and inmate rights advocate Dick Herman charged that one prisoner’s jaw and elbow were broken and another had a metal, surgical pin forcibly removed from his injured hand in tangles with guards during the past several weeks.

“We’re seeing nothing that speaks well for the county,” Herman said. “All of these injuries could be avoided. Neither the guards nor the prisoners are Boy Scouts. We acknowledge that. But this is excessive punishment.”

In a written statement, Assistant Sheriff John (Rocky) Hewitt said the incidents were investigated by the department and the allegations were found to be without merit.

Herman “simply does not have the right to make false allegations as if they were true,” Hewitt said. “We just simply do not tolerate inappropriate behavior by our staff.”

Herman said the beatings of prisoners Cole Weddleton and Andrew Lesky occurred at the county’s Intake/Release Center in Santa Ana and were alleged to be, in part, “retaliation” for prior complaints the inmates had made to their attorneys about jail conditions.

The attorney said the incidents violate terms of a 1978 federal court order that continues to provide a standard for inmate care and treatment in the county jail system.

Monday’s complaint alleged that guards broke Weddleton’s elbow, and while his arm was in a splint, “the 155-pound diabetic was subdued by a group of 200-pound guards” who repeatedly struck Weddleton in the face with closed fists. In the later incident, Weddleton’s jaw was broken.

Lesky reportedly received injuries in a separate confrontation with guards, requiring him to wear a neck collar.

Hewitt refuted the attorney’s claims, saying that Weddleton refused to cooperate with guards while being returned to his cell. During the standoff, Hewitt said, Weddleton reportedly told guards that they would have to “physically” force him in the cell.

In Lesky’s case, Hewitt said the prisoner has a history of fabricating medical complaints and was not mistreated.

At the time of the alleged beatings, Weddleton and Lesky were assigned to “permanent disciplinary isolation status” along with a third inmate, James Reynolds.

Weddleton was convicted of grand theft, drug and parole violation charges and was transferred to state prison last week. Lesky is awaiting trial on burglary and probation violation charges. Reynolds is awaiting trial on attempted murder, aggravated mayhem and parole violation charges.

Hewitt said all three were assigned to disciplinary isolation for failing to abide by a variety of jail rules.

The reports of violence are the first formal complaints since September, when state prison officials found that a proliferation of street gang members in the Central Jail had caused an increase in violence among inmates.

In the study, officials warned that the problem was “significant” and “will occur with increasing frequency and ferocity in the immediate future.”

However, the violent incidents recorded in the study did not involve inmate attacks against jail guards or guard attacks on inmates.