Jurors Clear Sheriff, Others in Jail-Death Suit
Jurors found San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender and 10 department employees not guilty of causing the death of a man being held in a county jail by denying him medical attention.
The jury reached its verdict Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Diego.
Juan Leon, 18, died in July 1999 at the George F. Bailey Detention Facility from a treatable inflammation of the stomach lining while awaiting trial on a probation violation.
Leon’s family filed a lawsuit against Kolender, four jail supervisors and six deputies, claiming negligence and a violation of Leon’s constitutional rights.
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