Inmate Against Inmate Assaults: Proving Liability for Failure to Protect

Jails are can be dangerous places.  Unfortunately, inmate-against-inmate assaults (including sexual assaults) do occur.  Some assaults result in extremely serious injuries, or even death.  When such assaults occur, jail officials can face legal liability under the Constitution for failing to prevent them, but only in limited circumstances. The Supreme Court has held that jail officials […]

When Someone You Love Dies in Police Custody and They Blame “Excited Delirium”

From: The Influence Julie Cobio Firkins prayed and then walked into a room to watch her 33-year-old husband die. “The video that you’re going to see is very sad,” she remembers the officer warning her—twice—before playing footage from a police bodycam. But as the tape rolled, she had a different thought: “It was brutal, not […]

Lawsuit: Fremont County jail withheld medicine, caused inmate’s death

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office also withheld crucial information on inmate’s death, a lawsuit says A Fremont County jail inmate suffered psychotic delusions and physical abuse by deputies before being found naked and dead on his cell floor in April 2014, according to a federal lawsuit. John Patrick Walter’s death is the fault of Fremont […]

Lawsuit alleges Fremont County jail inmate who died in custody was denied prescription meds

A Fremont County jail inmate died naked on the floor of his cell after he was deprived of a prescription medication and beaten by guards during bouts of withdrawal-related psychosis, a lawsuit alleges. John Patrick Walter, 53, had nine broken ribs and other injuries when Fremont County sheriff’s deputies found him unresponsive while making their […]

Jail Death Attorneys File $10 Million Wrongful Death Claim Against King County Jail

Jail death attorneys, Budge & Heipt, have filed a $10 million claim against the King County Jail in Seattle for the wrongful death of a pretrial detainee. The detainee, Nathan Zambryski, died at the jail in May 2015 from complications relating to alcohol withdrawal. Budge & Heipt, the lawyers for the estate of Mr. Zambryski, […]

Prison violated rules in inmate death

Inmate Death in Monroe, Washington: MONROE — When detectives arrived to investigate a vicious assault at the Monroe Correctional Center in May, they expected to examine the crime scene. They couldn’t. There wasn’t one. When a Monroe Police Department detective inquired about the dearth of physical evidence, the lieutenant on duty inside the Special Offenders […]

Seattle Police Brutality: SPD caused man to suffer brain damage during arrest

The family of a man who suffers from mental illness is suing the Seattle Police Department for police brutality, alleging the man suffered severe brain damage during an arrest last year. Attorney Ed Budge claims 15 Seattle police officers stepped over the line while trying to arrest his client, Brian Torgerson, on May 29, 2010. […]

Excessive Force in Washington State: Mistaken shooting costs county $3M

The Seattle Times reports on an egregious incident of excessive force in Washington State: King County has agreed to pay $3 million to a man who was severely injured when he was shot by a King County sheriff’s deputy and an officer with the Department of Corrections. Dustin Theoharis was unarmed and in bed Feb. […]

Budge & Heipt Obtain Police Shooting Settlement Totaling $5.5 Million

Reported by the Seattle Times: The state Department of Corrections has agreed to pay $2.5 million to a man who survived 16 gunshots fired by a corrections officer and King County sheriff’s deputy in 2012, ending a lawsuit in which the judge raised serious questions about what led to the barrage. The settlement comes on […]

If you or a loved one has been a victim of serious injury and/or death at the hands of police or in jail or prison, tell us about your case.