San Diego County can't dodge trial over inmate's death

(CN) — San Diego County failed to persuade a federal judge that there were no grounds for a jury to decide whether the county is liable for the death of a 22-year-old man who died in jail six days after he was arrested because deputies and nurses failed to adequately respond to his mental and physical distress.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw on Thursday denied the county’s motion for summary judgment as to the so-called Monell claims brought by the parents of Hayden Schuck, according to whom the county’s policies and practices are to blame for its employees’ negligence and violations of the constitutional due process rights of their son.

“Plaintiffs raise triable issues of fact as to whether the county has a policy of omission—specifically, its failure to implement measures mitigating in-custody deaths,” the judge said. “Plaintiffs reference statistics showing that in-custody deaths in County jails have been shockingly high for years. "

Sabraw, a George W. Bush appointee, cited a report by the California State Auditor finding that 185 people died in San Diego County jails from 2006 to 2020 — among the highest totals in California. In 2021, the year before Schuck’s death, there were 18 more in-custody deaths.

The judge also pointed to a Disability Rights California report that found more than 30 suicides in the San Diego County jails between 2010 and 2018, the highest number reported in any California jail system.

“These statistics in and of themselves raise an inference that the county has made subpar progress in combating in-custody deaths,” the judge said. “However, the California State Auditor goes further, attributing these deaths to ‘systemic’ deficiencies that persist because the county ‘has not consistently taken meaningful action in response when in‑custody deaths have occurred.’”

“The county’s response to Schuck’s death—or rather lack thereof—demonstrates a triable issue of fact as to whether the county has a policy or practice of failing to train, supervise, or discipline its employees,” Sabraw added. “Following Schuck’s death, at least nine of the jail staff involved did not receive feedback.”

A representative of San Diego County said the county isn’t able to comment on pending litigation.

The judge’s order also let the parents’ claims against most of the individual deputies and nurses proceed to trial.

Schuck was arrested on drug charges after a March 2022 rollover crash in San Diego. His parents say he died in custody six days later from dehydration and untreated withdrawal symptoms that led to heart failure — preventable, they argue, if the county and jail medical staff had given proper care.

The family says in their complaint that their 22-year-old son, who had ADHD and substance abuse issues, was shuttled between jail and UC San Diego Medical Center’s ER. In their complaint, they say his blood pressure was consistently high, reaching abnormal levels at times, he stumbled and fell repeatedly, and at his arraignment, he couldn’t state his own name or birth date.

“We are gratified by the ruling," Timothy Scott, a lawyer for the family, said.  “The facts of Hayden‘s death are horrifying — and so much more so after years of notice to the county that its jails are unacceptably dangerous. We look forward to presenting these facts to a jury in November.”

Last year the family of Elisa Serna — a 24-year-old pregnant woman who died alone on the floor of a San Diego County jail in 2019 — settled their civil suit against the county for $15 million and an agreement that requires the county to update their training policies for jailhouse staff, including a requirement that the county provide information about the extent of their use of alcohol and opioid withdrawal protocols for inmates.

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