April 14--The Cook County Board on Wednesday approved paying out more than $1.4 million for alleged mistreatment of detainees at the county jail run by Sheriff Tom Dart.
Most of the money -- more than $1.2 million -- will be paid to settle a federal civil rights, class-action lawsuit brought by men who said they were forced to return to their cells after they were found not guilty or charges were dropped in their cases.
The named plaintiff, Brian Otero, said that in November 2009 he was arrested and charged with burglary. He was held in jail until July 2011, when he was found not guilty. At the time, there were no outstanding warrants for his arrest, according to the suit.
Nevertheless, Otero was handcuffed and returned to jail, where he was beaten by other detainees, the suit stated. Meanwhile, women at the time were given the option to be freed on the spot if they so chose, according to the suit.
Cara Smith, chief of policy and communications for Dart, said the jail is in the process of changing its practices in such cases. People who are acquitted or against whom charges are dropped are told they are free to leave if there are no outstanding warrants, although many choose to return to jail to pick up clothing, other possessions or medicine, she said.
The jail also is setting up an area where people who are freed by a judge can wait for their possessions, and the sheriff's office is working with defense attorneys and prosecutors to identify those who might be freed at the end of a court hearing, Smith said. The jail transports 1,200 people a day between the jail and courtrooms, she added.
The board also agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a case filed by the family of Rex Johnson, who died in jail after suffering a seizure. The lawsuit alleged Johnson was denied needed seizure medication that jail officials should have known he needed.
hdardick@tribpub.com
