Suit settled for $2 mil in county jail death

[Raoul Duke]

Suit settled for $2 mil in county jail death

Arpaio denies abuse of mentally ill inmate

Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 15, 2008 12:00 AM

The parents of a disabled man who died after an altercation with a detention officer agreed to a $2 million settlement that will end their wrongful-death lawsuit against fund-strapped Maricopa County.

In the Superior Court complaint, family attorney Michael Manning claimed that 40-year-old Brian Crenshaw was beaten and placed in solitary confinement weeks before he died of complications from internal injuries on April 15, 2003.

But Jack MacIntyre, an attorney for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, said the inmate's death resulted from a medical condition that developed in the hospital and had nothing to do with events in jail: "He didn't die of anything that happened in detention."


MacIntyre said the county settled only to avoid paying millions of dollars in attorney fees to Manning in the event a jury ruled for the plaintiffs.

"If the sheriff had his druthers, we'd have gone to court on this," MacIntyre added. "We've won six (jury verdicts) in a row, and I think this was very defensible."

Despite those verdicts, the Sheriff's Office has suffered major losses in civil suits filed on behalf of families of dead or injured prisoners. Manning alone has won more than $18 million in judgments and settlements in recent years.

Maricopa County's liability-insurance policy now contains a $5 million deductible for such cases, MacIntyre said, so the $2 million will come from tax dollars held in a risk-management fund. He said the payout was a business decision and "nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Government entities are always going to be targets, especially for these bogus civil-rights-type claims," he added.

Manning represented Crenshaw's parents, Linda Evans and Kim "Ken" Crenshaw, in the case. Evans has been quoted previously in a British television documentary blaming Arpaio for her son's death: "Mr. Arpaio is responsible. He seems to thrive on this cruelty and this mentality that these men are nothing."

According to court papers, Crenshaw was mentally disabled and legally blind when he was arrested on a shoplifting charge in October 2002. The complaint says jail physicians issued written instructions that Crenshaw needed anti-depressants and should not be confined in Tent City. But the inmate was housed in that complex and, failing to receive medications, got into a verbal dispute with detention officer Jimmy Martinez in March 2003. Crenshaw was shoved into a table and knocked to the floor, suffering cuts and an abdominal injury, according to court papers. After treatment, he was placed in solitary confinement and denied medical care, the complaint says.

Six days later, Crenshaw was found on the floor of his cell with a broken neck, fractured toes and other injuries. He was hospitalized in March 2003, but physicians were unaware of a perforated duodenum, a portion of the small intestine, the complaint says. Crenshaw fell into a coma and died four weeks later of a sepsis condition or infection stemming from blunt-force trauma to the abdomen due to a fall, according to a medical examiner's report.

MacIntyre said Crenshaw's broken bones were caused by a fall from his bed. He said the injured duodenum had nothing to do with jail violence and may have been a "spontaneous development" at Maricopa Medical Center.

In the lawsuit, Manning described that scenario as "implausible," adding, "A fall from Brian's 4-foot, 2-inch bunk could not have simultaneously caused a broken neck, broken toes and a duodenal perforation."

Manning also accused the Sheriff's Office of a cover-up, saying, "We caught them destroying four pieces of really important evidence from this case," including a videotape of the altercation with Martinez and of the isolation cell.

MacIntyre denied the allegation.

Manning said the Sheriff's Office failed to conduct an internal investigation of the death, despite Arpaio's agreement in the settlement of a 1999 lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice after independent investigators found chronic civil-rights violations in the jails.

In court papers, Manning described Crenshaw's death as "part of a pattern and practice of excessive force and beatings of inmates by MCSO detention officers."

"Brian died because the same dangerous system that Sheriff Arpaio . . . publicly applauds has been allowed to continue to exist in a state that is unreasonably dangerous and unconstitutional," the papers added.

[Gizzard]

Good Job Joke! Show that your Americas Toughest Sheriff, give em that look you have, you know that look. The one that makes you look Mean and Stupid! Looks like CP-1 doesn't mean much to your jail guards. Go hold Candys hand for support he will help you stay strong.

[CV]

Good job by Dennis Wagner in writing a fair and balanced story on the death of Brian Crenshaw. Wagner included both sides of this story no matter how stupid the comments of Arpaio-mouthpiece Jack MacIntyre are. The truth has no meaning to MacIntyre. Does anyone actually believe that Crenshaw's perferated intestine actually occured at the hospital? The only point I know of that Wagner did not include in the story is that fact that Arpaio himself, when asked by Channel 5 about the death, said, on camera, "He fell off this bunk."

[Coz]

Yup, with the 2 million dollar settlement on Crenshaw, Maricopa County has paid out 43 million dollars in settlements so far because Arpaio never does anything wrong.

Wake up Maricopa County Voters, Joe Arpaio & Andy Thomas are liabilities Maricopa County can no longer afford.

Vote them both out in 2008 !

[CV]

Unfortunately, the Channel 12 story from last night, reported by Kevin Kennedy, was not of the same high quality as the Wagner piece. Kevin stated, as a fact, that Crenshaw "fell off a bunk bed." Sure, Crenshaw received a broken neck, broken toes, and a "traumatic perforated intestine" by falling from a bunk! How many times does a person need to fall in order to do that much damage? Kennedy also misstated the cause of death by saying that after 40 days in the hospital, Crenshaw died when his "intestines burst," making it sound like it was the hospital's fault. Crenshaw died from an infection caused by blunt force trauma to his abdomen. It appears that Kevin Kennedy just takes whatever he is fed by the sheriff's office and assumes it is Gospel. Big mistake, Kevin.

[Coz]

Channel 12 has always been a Pro Arpaio station no matter what the over-whelming truth is or what has been laid out in front of them. They are like a lot of voters in Maricopa County, will never see the forest through the trees. Just too stupid.

Some things will never change.

[Observer]

The Republic's Crenshaw story was on the front page! Unusual. I think the night-time arrest of two executives from the New Times really got the attention of the Republic. Plus, the Republic is very pro-illegal, open-border. This puts them at odds with their long-time friend Joe Arpaio since he turned illegal immigration into a very successful publicity stunt. I just sent Dennis Wagner at thank-you note and a tip on another story.

[Gizzard]

I wonder if Joke will notice the Saban Bumper sticker on his car. I left it fresh this morning when he was at the Sun City West Posse office for a ceremony. Alot of people came for cake and coffee before leaving to play golf. Once you have heard the same line of crap over and over it gets boring. I told him to pad those bunks, Sands almost tripped over himself trying to find out who said such a thing.My Oh My! - And no I am not a posse member, just went for the goodies!

[Gary]

Gizzard, you are my new hero...right behind Nancy. But, be warned! The Arpaio "Political Dirty Tricks, Harassment, Retribution Unit and Goon Squad" will be seeking you out. Go deep cover. Change your name. Sell your car. Move to Guatemala....no, wait, that won't work anymore...try Tibet, or Nepal. Vote by mail!

[Gizzard]

Let them try Gary. Nobody scares Frank Munnell damn it. I know people up top. Where's my cigars and brandy? I must have left them in Aguila last night.

[imnancy]

Thanks, Gary. It's nice to be considered a hero. I wonder if the "Political Dirty Tricks, Harrassment, Retribution Unit and Goon Squad" would draw the line at drive bys in Nepal or Tibet? They have been seen doing them in Colorado.

Gizzard, there is nothing like the fun of "stickering" MCSO vehicles! You can also stick political brochures under windshield wipers in the employees' parking areas. I'm glad to hear that someone had what it takes to speak up at a joe rally, too! But, Gary is right! They will come looking for you! As short of staff and money as MCSO is, they will still go after joe's alleged opponents!