Sheriff Settles Inmates’ Civil Rights Lawsuits

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reached settlements Wednesday in two federal civil rights cases brought by jail inmates who said they were unnecessarily detained at the County Jail after they were supposed to have been released.

The settlements came hours after Sheriff Sherman Block took the witness stand in one case brought by a man who was kept in custody 40 hours after he was ordered released.

Block defended practices for releasing inmates from the jail, saying that caution was required to protect the public.

In a ruling last month, U.S. District Judge William Rea declared that sheriff’s deputies cannot detain inmates scheduled for release just so they can check for outstanding holds and warrants. There is ample time to do that beforehand, he said.

Details of Wednesday’s settlements were not disclosed. Lawyers for both sides said they were bound by confidentiality agreements.

One case before the court involved Roland R. Garcia of Cudahy, who was arrested by Los Angeles police on a concealed weapon charge. A judge ruled that he was wrongfully arrested and ordered him freed, But the Sheriff’s Department held him for 40 hours before releasing him at 3 a.m.

The other case was brought by Andrew Fowler, a bus driver for 20 years, who was acquitted on a homicide charge. Afterward he was held at the jail without explanation for two days.

Stephen Yagman, who represented the plaintiffs in both cases, said the settlements “make my clients very, very happy.”

And in an attempt to limit financial liability to the county, the sheriff’s risk management unit last year paid nearly $200,000 to 540 inmates who were incarcerated too long--on the condition that they agree in writing not to sue.

Block has said that a new computer system is being installed to alleviate the problem and that some inmates are being released directly from courthouses to prevent delays at the jail.