San Diego County has agreed to pay $2.3 million to the family of Bernard Victorianne who died in San Diego's Central Jail in 2012 from a drug overdose.
On September 12, 2012, Bernard Victorianne was arrested for driving under the influence. The arresting officer saw Bernard ingest a baggie of drugs. Jail staff knew Bernard Victorianne had ingested drugs before being booked and heard him screaming that “something was burning his insides.”
Nonetheless, jail staff failed to provide him with medical care. The jail medical staff knew of Bernard’s overdose symptoms, yet failed to properly monitor his medical condition or render appropriate medical care. Testimony from the deputies that they properly checked on Bernard was contradicted by video surveillance.
He was later found dead, his body was cold and stiff, with rigor mortis setting in. Bernard was only 28 years old.
The Citizen’s Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) made seven findings that deputies were guilty of misconduct for failing to follow prisoner count and other procedures, lying during a subsequent investigation and failing to properly investigate the death. The Board also found that jail medical staff knew of Victorianne’s overdose symptoms yet failed to monitor his medical condition.
Media Coverage
San Diego Deputies Faulted for Jail Death
PrisonLegalNews.com
July 31, 2015
A civilian review board found that sheriff’s deputies lied and failed to take steps that could have saved a prisoner who swallowed meth before being booked into a San Diego Jail.
San Diego County to pay $2.3 million in case of inmate who died after swallowing baggie of meth
LA Times
September 1, 2016
San Diego County has agreed to pay $2.3 million to the family of a man who died in San Diego's Central Jail in 2012 from a drug overdose. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys Julia Yoo and Eugene Iredale, argued that Victorianne's death was the result of "a systemic failure to investigate incidents of misconduct and deaths in the jail."
County settles jail meth death for $2.3 million
San Diego Union Tribune
August 30, 2016
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys Julia Yoo and Eugene Iredale, argued that Victorianne’s death was the result of "a systemic failure to investigate incidents of misconduct and deaths in the jail.”