Willis Last Amended Complaint - 2

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10-07390 JAK - 4TII Amended Comp1ai nt

to ld be h a d a fracture d nose , a tom ligamen t in his ankle, a swollen artery in hbrain, and possible rib fractures. M r. Bueno was afraid to attend churc h for fof encountering th e deputies who atta cked him .W alter M orales, May 20 I 0: For about a week in M ay 2010, deputies in M e]beat W alter M orales tw ice a day with flas hlights about his head and body.M r. M orales believes the deputies beat him bec ause be was arr ested forallegedly fi rin g a gun at police officers. A group of dep uties came in toM r. Morales 's ceil and punched and hit him with flashlights . M r. Morales hasca r above his eye as a result . Later, a second shift of deputies bea t M r. M orawhile he was restrai ned in waist chain s and bandcuffs.Jimmie Knott: In June 2010, while waiting in line for his hepatit is shot, M r.Knott as ked Senior Deputy Sanchez if he could get some new shoes, as his hasplit in them . Senior Deputy Sanchez told M r. Knott to get out ofline and tostrip down. M r. Knott complied and str ipped to his boxers. Senior DeputySanchez th en told him to get on his knees, and as M r. Knott was bending to thfloor, Senior Deputy Sanchez hit him in the temple, causin g his head to bleed.O ther dep uties th en came over and began hitting, kicking and kneein g him .M r. Knott curled into a fetal position and waited for the violence to subsid e.After two or three m inute s, the deputies st opped hitting him and took him tomedical. On the way to medical, th e deputies told him to say th at he fell downthe stair s. M r. Knott complied, beca use he was afraid of bein g beaten again.w itness described th e deputies in volved as like "a pac k of wolves."Joseph Hager In June 2010, deputies took M r. Hager out of his cel l and plachim in handcuff s to go to the law library. A t the library, a deputy shovedM r. Hager up again st the wal l and kicked his ankle so forcefully it bled. Thedeputy then dragged M r. Hager, who was still handcuffed, back to the tier,where he slammed M r. Hager's face in to the edge of a door frame. M r. Hagerblacked out. \Vben M r. Hager regain ed consciousnes s, he was on th e ground

Case 2:10-cv-07390-JAK-DTB Document 165-1 Filed 11/28/12 Page 1 of 11 Page ID#:1172


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and Deputies Chavez and Gonzalez were kicking and punching him in the heand face, Even though Mr. Hager was handcuffed, the deputies repeatedlyyelled, "Stop resisting!" When the beating subsided, Deputy Chavez told himtried to kill you You are lucky you are still breathing," The beating causedfracture in Mr. Hager's face, a black eye, swelling in his ears, and bleeding imouth, When staff members interviewed Mr. Hager on camera, he said thathad slipped in the shower, out of fear of what the deputies would do to him irevealed that they had beaten him, After the beating, Mr. Hager was sent todisciplinary segregation and told he was being charged with assault on a depuRuben Belt ran: In .Iuly 2010, Mr. Beltran filed a complaint about not gettingday room time. Deputy Farino and Britton got upset about the complaint andtook Mr. Beltran's personal belongings (books, periodicals, religious materialsas punishment. When he complained to the ACLU, Deputy Farino and two odeputies handcuffed him and put him in the main hallway, ordering him to stdown to his boxers to do a strip search, No sergeant as required by policy wapresent. Deputy Farino planted a razor on Mr. Beltran, Sr. Deputy Sanchezcame and asked WIlY be had a shank in his pocket, and when told Farino plantit Oil him, Sr. Deputy Sanchez placed MT, Beltran in disciplinary segregation29 days accusing him of having a weapon,Rashaad Pilgrim: In July 2010, deputies in MeJ targeted Rashaad Pilgrimhe stood in line to receive his medication, The deputies instructed all of theinmates in line to face the wall. Deputy Reza approached Mr. Pilgrim frombehind and yelled at him before punching him twice in the face. WhenMr. Pilgrim returned to his cell a few minutes later, he called his mother to rewhat happened, Not long after, Deputies Reza and Mil pad ordered the inmateto line up and g,o to the day room , but instructed Mr. Pilgrim to slay behind aface the wan, One deputy spread his legs, as if to search him. 1nstead, the otdeputies began to punch Mr. Pilgrim in the face and head, Mr. Pilgrim lost

10-07390 JAK - 4TII Amended Complaint



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consciousness. When M r. Pilgrim woke up, he was on the floor and the depu'v vere still punching him and yelling, "Stop fighting!" A deputy th en slammedM r. Pilgrim 's face in to th e concrete floor, chipping his teeth . Later, doctorsM r. Pilgrim he had fractures in his face, blu nt head tr auma, injury to his rightand a chipped to oth .A lex K rehbiel: In July 2010, a deputy approached A lex Krehbiel as he wasreturning from a visit w ith his attorn ey. M r. K rehbiel had been tryin g to getto his housin g unit but th e door was locked. The deputy ord ered M r. K rehbielfa ce th e wall and yelled in his ear, "This is my fu ckin g honsel Where do youthink you are '? This is m y fucking bouse!" The deputy then slammedM r. K rehbiel's forehead again st th e wall tw ic e. A group of deputies approachtauntin g M r. K rehbiel, and one of them punched him in the face. The deputiespush ed M r. Krehbiel into the laundry room , knocked him to the flo or, andpunched and kicked his head, ribs, and back. The deputies th en pepper spra yehis eyes and mouth, and slammed his head into the floor Mr. K rehbiel wasgiven disciplinary segregation for tw enty -nine days.M ichael earn pbell: On December 20 I 0 , a female deputy entered M r.Campbell 's cell and took a mattress, he ask ed if she was taking his also, A fem inutes la ter Deputy Vazquez entered his cell and asked him why he was"fucking w ith a female deputy?" Deputy Vazquez le aned on his back, and aswas punching his bead w ith the fists , the female deputy put him in a choke hoHe suffered enorm ous pain to his back, neck and left sid e of his temple, and hbruises and knots 011 his head and forehead. The deputies th en put him on th efloor, handcuff ed his hands in his back, took him to his module and handcuffehim to a stool. He was taken to medical and told a senior deputy what happenTwo days later he was punished w ith disciplinary segre gation.A lex Rosas: On July 2011, Mr. Rosas observed a beatin g by Deputy Guerreroaccompani ed by deputies Luviano, Beare r and Ibarr a and other deputies of



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inm ate A rturo Fernandez. On August 2011, Deputy Luviano punched M r.2 Rosas, and Deputies Luviano and Ibarr a th re atened M r. Rosa s not to complainJ 59. In April 2010, an LASD deputy, Joshua Satber, who had graduate d at the top4 his re cruit class, resigned after only a few weeks on th e job, all egin g that a

supervisor 1118c1ehim beat up a menta lly ill jail inmate. Sath er was the sa leHonor Recruit in his graduating class from the academy, and had beenrecognized fo r his leadership and otber abilities. A s w ith virtuall y all rookies,fir st assignment wasjail duty. On M arch 22,2010, Sath er was working on thsixth floor m ental health ward of Tw in Towers. A t some point during Sather'sshift, he, his superv iso r and other deputie s used fo rce on a mentally il l inmate.Soon afterward, Sather , crying and distraught, called his uncle, a veteranSheriff s detecti ve, and told him th at he had parti cipate d in an unjust if ie dbeating, th at shortly befo re th e beati ng his supervisor said, "W e're gonna goand teach this guy a lesson," and that the attack had been covered up. Sather'suncle confr onte d the supervisor about m aking his nephew "beat up 'dings.'?'Sheri ff s officia ls la unched an investigatio n and dete rmined that an

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uncoopera tive inmate h e l d been subdued by forc e, but conclu ded that nom isc onduct had occurred.On October 18 , 2011, due to the rampant ongoin g deputy vio lence at LASDjails, th e County Board of Superv iso r passed a re solution to cre ate a citizen 'scommission "The mandate of the C itizens' Comm is sion on Jail V iolence shbe to conduct , 1 review of the natu re, depth and cause of th e pro blem ofinappropriate dep ury use of force in th e j ai Is, and to recommend corr ecti ve acas necess ary. It shall be th e task of th e Comm iss ion to rest ore public confidenin the constitutional operation of our jails" In September 2012, the C itiz ens'

27- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -28 . 1 Robert Fatu rechi, fjA Co unty Deputy Savs He {Yas Fo rced to Beat M ental ly1 /1 Inm a te . Los Angeles Times, Oct. 7, 20 I 1 .

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Comm ission on Jail V iole nce (CCJV , see htrp.z/ccjv.lacounty.g ov) completedinvestigation and iss ued it s final report. Some of CCJV 's key findings are

a. LASD received repeated notice by th e ACLU, D r. Kupers , th e DO ) , and otheorganizations and county lawyer s ofconcerns about mistreatm ent of inmatesdeputies at County jail s;

b . LASD personnel have used force agai nst inm ate s disproportionate to the threposed or when there was no th reat at all ;

c. LASD does not have a comprehensive, in tegrated and understandable use offorce policy:

d. A "force first" approach has been used as a means of discipline and to establisauthority rather than a last-resort response to ass aultive beh av io r;

e. LASD training fo r custody is far below both industry best prac tices and trainistandards in other correction systems;

f. There is substantial evidence offailures ill reporting , in vestigating anddisciplining Lise of force in the jails; andThe m inuscule number of unreasonable fo rce findings cast doubt on th e in tegof th e in vestigato ry proce ss.In September 2012 the ACLU of Southern California, jointly w ith the ACLUPriso n Project and th e Paul Hastin gs LLP law fi rm , iss ued a report, "SheriffBacas Stri ke Force: Deputy Violence and Head I nj uries of I nmates il l LACounty Jails," detailing th e incidents of d ep utie s' excess ive use of forc e andvio lence on inmates . I t concluded, am ong oth er things, th at "th e use ofunnecessary and dangero us force as demonstrative by the prevalence of headstrikes and severe head injuries support the findings of th e CCJV .

4 See, http.z/cc jv. lacounty .gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/CCJV -090712-Exh ibits.pdf

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Sheriff BA CA , other high ranking officials and D efendant Supervisors hereinhave abjectly failed to develop and/or to implem ent polic ies that address theproblem of endem ic brutality in the Jails. Policies regarding use of force,investigation of use of force, discipl ine for deputies w ho have used excessiveforce or failed to report use of force, supervisors who have m ishandledinvestigations of force, and training of deputies and supervisors all fail tom eaningfully address the problem . W hen allegations of deputy violence aristhey are infrequently investigated , and deputies are rarely disciplined. TheD efendants have failed to require the D epartm ent to track incidents of violeneven though system s for doing so are readily available and commonly used.this way, the Defendants have fostered a pattern and practice of deputy vio leagainst inm ates, which places inm ates (I t a significant, ongoing risk of seriouand irreparable injury. D eputies and supervisors alike have com e to believecomm itting abuse (or failing to investigate abuse) w ill have absolutely no imon their career. A s a result, physical abuse by deputies continues unchecked.The persistent fail ure or refusal of Sheriff BACA , supervisor D efendants andother high ranking officia ls to superv ise deputies properly or take action to cthe m isconduct dem onstrates the D efendants' deliberate indifference to thePlaintiffs right to reasonable protection from harm .A s a result of BACA and these superv isor defendants' actions and/or inactionand/or policies are them selves a repudiation of constitutional rights and are t"m oving force of the constitutional violations, and the above policies, practicand custom s were ill force on or about O ctober 16, 2009, and w ere the m ovinforces of D efendants and D oes 1-10 unconstitu tional conduct and deliberatein differen ce to P lain tiff.A s a resu lt o f D efendants' actions and inactions Tyler W illis w as harm ed inm anner threatened by the ongoing failure to train, supervise, investigate orinstruct subordinates in the m anner herein stated.

10-07390 JAK - 4TH Amend ed C om plaint



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P lain tiffs injuries entitled him to com pensatory and punitive damages accordto proof as to th e individ ual defendants and to attorn ey fees and costs .

THIRD CLAI!\1AGAINST COUNTY A D LAS]) FOR eUSTONI, POLIC'{ AD/OR

PRACTICE CAUSING CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS.4

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IPlaintiff in corp orates by refe rence here in paragraphs \- 63 above and allparagraphs follow in g th is second cause of action , as th ough fully set forth.At all tim es herein m entioned, Defendants COUNTY and LASD , and each o

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them , maintained a longsta nding, pervasive, and noto rious culture, patte rn ,and/or practic e of deputy violence against inm ates th at posed a substantial riof serious harm to inm ates in Tyler W illis 's sit uation and each defendant knethat the follow in g custom , practice or poli cies posed this ri sk of harm . Someth ese cu stom s, practices and patterns include, but are not lim ited to , th efo llow ing:

a Fai I me to preven ( and/or avert deputy or custody sta ff v io lence on inm ate s;b . Inm ate-victim s of deputy viole nce and abuse experience harassm ent,

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intimidation, retali ation and threate ned w ith further violence or criminal charif th ey compl ain;

c. Inm ate-victim s of d eputy viole nce are fa lsely accused of assault on off icers oother inm ates and are depriv ed of due process and punished w ith dis cip linaryse greg ari 011;

d. Deputies and custody staff use of force w ith "fl ashlight therapy" again st 11011resisting inmates causing severe in juries;e. D eputies and custody staff raciall y motivated violence against inm ate s;

f Deputy assault s again st inm ate s fo r rules in fractions or perceived slights;g. Deputies LIse uunates as pawn to in fl ict violence on other inm ates;h . Supervisor off icials condoning lax supervision and/or lapses of supervisio n

incidents of deputies violence on inm ates;

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LASD jails.The above alleged customs or practices 'vvere a legal cause of Plaintiff's injuras set for supra in ') s 27 and 28.

Supervisor officials condoning, ratifying conduct by line superv isors who fa ireport, invest igate and/or cover up deputy violence on inmates ;Superviso r officials hav e condoned a pattern of in adequate or shodelyinvestigations and cover-u ps;Superviso r officials condoning, ra ti fying, fa cilitating and encouragin g in cid enof subordinates' use of force and/or excess ive use of fo rce on inmates; andSuperviso ry officials have ignored, condoned, rati fied and facilitated gang-likdeputy so cieties, such as deputies sp orting sim ilar tattoos, acting in concert ,covering up for each other.Plaintiff is in formed and believes and thereon alleges th at Defendants VazqueGuerrero, Farino, Sr. Deputy Sanchez, an d Does 1 - 10, each had a history anpropensity for acts of th e nature complained of herein and manifested suchpropensities prior to and during their employment and/or ag ency with defendaCOUNTY an d LASD . Plaintiff is further in form ed and believ es and th ereonalleges that LASD an d COUNTY , or in the exerc ise of re aso nable care shouldhave known, of such prior histo ry and propensity at the tim e such individ ualswere hired and/or during th e cours e of th eir employment, and/or subseq uentth i s inci dent. LAS D an d COUNTY 's disregard of thi s knowledge and/or fa ilto adequate ly investigate and discover and corr ect such wrongfu l conductcaused, enco uraged, condoned and/or faci li tated in divid ual Defendants' violaof Plaintiff 's constitu tional rights, and further fa cilitated, condoned and ratifithese Defendants ' contin ued unconst itutional acts of vio lence again st inmates

FOURTH CLAININEGLIGENCE AGAINST ALL DEFENDANTS.

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All D e fe nd an ts and Doe Defendants had a legal duty to pro vide reaso nablese curity , monitor and ensure th e safety of Plaintiff, and a duty to ensure thatdeputies and superviso rs took action to abate unnecessary and gratu itousviolence again st inmates.

P lain tiff incorporates by refe rence here in paragrapbs 1-68 above as though fuse t forth herei n.

A ll D efendants breached sa id duty of care to Plaintiff Tyler W illis who wasviolently attacked by D efendants Vazquez, Farino, Guerrero, Sanchez and DDefe ndants \- 10.E ach Defendant and Doe Defendant breached his/her duty in the performancehis/her custody dcputys ta ctics and duti es and this negligence was a c ause oPlaintiff injuries and damages. Defendants actions were below th e standardcare for reasonable custody deputies, and this negligence caused Plaintiff injuan d dam ages.Defendants, BACA, CRUZ, AGUILAR, MCDANIELS and DOE Defe ndants,acting w ithin th e course and scope of their employment w ith Defendants Couand LASD , breached their duty to assure the competence of their subordinatesfail ed to exercise ordinary care under the circum stances herein and breachedth eir duty of selecting, tr aining, review in g and periodically evalu ating thecompete ncy of these in dividually named deputies and taking corrective measto abate th e violence again st inmate s. Tbis breach of duty created anunreasonable risk of harm to persons such as Plaintiff Tyler W illis.A s a direct and legal result of the aforesaid negligence, carelessness andunskillfulne ss of Defendants, and each of them , Plaintiff was injured, and hassuff ered the damages as se t fort h supra in ~I ls27 and 28.

FIFTH CLA IlVI11'\TENTIO!'.:A L INFLICTION OF ElVIOTIONAL D ISTRESS.

10-07390 JAK - 4TII Amended Complain t



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COUNTY defe ndants.

Plaintiff incorporate s by reference herein para graphs 1 -68 above as though fuse t forth herei n.Defe ndants' co nduct was extreme and outrageous and caused Plaintiff to su stsevere emotional distr ess and damages.As a direct and proxim ate cause of the aforementioned acts of defe ndants ,Plaintiff was injured and sustained injuries as all eged supra in ~s 27 and 28.P la intiff s injurie s entit led h im to compensa tory and punitive damages accordto pro of as to the indiv idual defendants and compensatory damages alo ne as

SIXTH CLAIl\1FOR ASSAULT AND BATTERY AGAINST DEFENDANTS

VASQUEZ, GUERRERO, FARINO, SA CHEZ.Plaintiff incorporate s by reference herein para graphs] -68 above as though fuset fo rth herein.Defe ndants Vasquez, Guerr ero , Farino, San chez and Doe 1-10, ass aultedPlaintiff. Defendants act ed w ith reckles s disreg ard and/or w ith intent to ca usese rious bodily injury to Plaintiff. Further, these Defendants had the inte ntioncau se Plaintiff fe ar, in tim id ation and apprehension of immediate bodily harmand/or offensive contact.A s a result of Defe ndants' reckless, w il ful and m alicious conduct, Plaintiffsuff ered se ver e pain , suffering, physic al injuries and harm as desc ri bed morefully above.Such assault and battery was offe nsive and would off end any re as onable persand did off end and seriously harm Plaintiff as set fo rth supra in ~s 2 7 and28.Plaintiff seeks ex emplary damages against these d efen da nts.

\VHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for relief as follows:1 . For gen eral damages according to proof;2. For pas t, pres ent and future special damages accordin g to proof;

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IIBy: ~~'-"-Sor ia Mercado, C laintiffTyler H . Willi

3. For other losses in an am ount according to proof;2 4. For costs of suit and reasonable attorney s' fees as permitted pursuant to 423 US.C., ~ 1988;4 i ) For exemplary damages against individual Defendants where appropriate; an:) () For such further relief (1S the court may deem just and equitable.6

7 PLAINTIFF HEREBY DElVIANDS A TRIAL BY JURY .8 Plaintiff hereby demands ajury trial on all issues.9 Dated: Novem ber 20, 201 2

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Respec tfully subm itted,SONIA ~/IERCADO & ASSOCIATES

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Willis Last Amended Complaint - 2