Lawsuit against Maricopa County, sheriff over negligence in inmate beating settled for $11.75M
A lawsuit over negligence and indifference after a man was beaten unconscious at the Fourth Avenue Jail has been settled for nearly $12 million.
The Maricopa Board of Supervisors approved an $11.75 million dollar settlement to Selene Ortiz, whose son, Brian Ortiz, was brutally beaten while in a Phoenix jail.
Ortiz, 18, was incarcerated at Fourth Avenue Jail for violating his probation because of an unpaid fine when Xavier Fregoso, another inmate, beat him to the point of unconsciousness. Despite later walkthroughs by officers and a video surveillance tower, Ortiz wasn't given appropriate medical care until well over two hours after the attack, the lawsuit claims.
Tony Piccuta, a lawyer who represented the Ortiz family, said the case is just one in a long pattern of negligence by the county and Sheriff's Office. The Maricopa County jail system has a "history of providing inadequate medical care and of failing to address the serious medical needs of its inmates," he said.
Ortiz's mother sued Maricopa County and the Sheriff's Office, alleging deliberate indifference to his medical needs, negligence, the failure to protect Ortiz or properly train staff, and the disruption of the relationship between mother and son. The Board of Supervisors approved the settlement on May 18.
What happened to Brian Ortiz
In the early morning of May 26, 2020, Ortiz was lured into Fregoso's cell to look at something. Fregoso attacked him, kicking, punching and stomping on Ortiz's head and body almost 50 times, the lawsuit says. It's unclear from the lawsuit where officers were during this time.
Fregoso moved Ortiz to his own bed and cleaned up the blood on the floor before officers performed a walkthrough at 8:50 a.m., a full hour after the attack, the lawsuit claims. Officers in the first two walkthroughs noticed Ortiz unconscious in his bed, but made no move to check on him, the lawsuit says.
It wasn't until 9:15 a.m., however, during a third walkthrough, that officers conducting medical rounds raised the alarm. Still, despite Ortiz having seizures and bleeding from his head, officers stopped to consult each other and then restrain Ortiz's hands, placing chains on his legs and a belly belt around his midsection before carrying him to the jail clinic.
Ortiz was placed in an ambulance at 9:55 a.m. — more than 2 hours after his assault — and taken to a hospital.
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Ortiz suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and was comatose for 2 months. His mother, Selene, wasn't told about his condition until 5 days after his arrival at the hospital, by staff and not by police. Not 2 days later, she was asked for permission to take him off life support.
Ortiz is now 20 years old and learning to walk again, the Associated Press reports. He lives in a 24-hour extended living facility and will likely need care for the rest of his life.
Penzone issues apology to the family
In an emailed statement last Thursday, Sheriff Paul Penzone offered his "heartfelt apology" to the Ortiz family, but said the officers involved were not at fault, despite admitting that human shortcomings were part of the problem.
"Unfortunately, jails are inherently dangerous given many of those incarcerated are violent criminals, like the inmate who attacked Mr. Ortiz. Although MCSO meets or exceeds national best practices, the subsequent delay in our recognition of the event and engagement to provide aid occurred due to human and operational shortcomings," he said.
Penzone went on to say that the officers involved didn't violate any policies of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and that blaming them would be unfair, given that the complex nature of their jobs "do not allow for human error."
Arizona Department of Corrections data on fights and assaults by prisoners on other prisoners says there were 2,084 incidents in 2020. While the year after saw a decrease of 28%, this year's numbers appear to be on their way back up. As of April, there have been as many as 1,083 fights and assaults.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach the reporter at GRGomez@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Nearly $12M awarded to inmate Brian Ortiz after Phoenix jail beating
