Lawsuit: Jail Inmate Severely Beaten, Medical Care Delayed
ALLEGAN, Mich. (AP) - A former county jail inmate filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was severely beaten and deprived medical care for several hours, leading him to write in blood on a jailhouse wall in case he died.
Aaron Henderson said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids that a deputy kneed him in the head in the Allegan County Jail, causing him to slam into a wall and break several facial bones. The Orlando, Florida, resident was living in Allegan when he was arrested for disorderly conduct in February 2014.
"Plaintiff feared for his life, feared he was going to die in that jail, and hoped to leave traces of his own DNA so that he could be tracked," the lawsuit reads, referring to writing on the wall. "He had no way of knowing why he was being left to suffer in the prison."
Henderson's attorney, David Blanchard, said his client was compliant but officers present in the cell say he insufficiently responded to their requests, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit added he was segregated from other inmates and that the deputy struck the inmate while trying to take off Henderson's clothes.
The officer isn't being named because he hasn't been charged. Allegan County Undersheriff Frank Baker declined comment on the department's behalf.
Blanchard said Wednesday in a statement to The Grand Rapids Press that the attack was "reckless and a complete disregard for his constitutional rights."
According to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, Henderson did not see medical personnel for about eight hours, when he was observed through a window. About five hours after that, he was taken to a hospital. The lawsuit says his eye bones were fractured and he had suffered extensive bleeding.
Shortly before his arrest, the lawsuit says, Henderson was having trouble with prescribed medication and was taken by police to a local hospital, where he exhibited "agitation and anxiety." He left the hospital because there was no relative there to ensure "everything was being done appropriately."
The lawsuit alleges that the officers involved lacked "proper training in how to deal with prisoners who were exhibiting potential mental health problems."
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