Sheriff lawsuits: some frivolous others serious

The Butler County Sheriff and his staff have been sued at least 24 times in the past two decades for everything from denying jail inmates showers to the false arrest of an illegal alien.

Half of the lawsuits were tossed by the judge who heard the case, some on the same day they were filed, a Journal-News analysis of court records found. But in a few instances, the sheriff’s office and the county have had to settle cases, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For example, an illegal immigrant, Luis Rodriguez, won a $100,000 settlement with the sheriff in 2010 after he was arrested for having some fake documents. Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones has been an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration and when his deputies busted about 12 illegal workers at a local construction site, Rodriguez got caught in the roundup. Rodriguez sued and was eventually cleared of any criminal charges, but he, his wife and two children were deported back to Mexico.

His attorney Alphonse Gerhardstein took the sheriff to task, saying his client, who came here to escape the horrid conditions and dangers of their homeland, was paying taxes and not hurting anyone. Gerhardstein said there was no probable cause for the sheriff to arrest him.

“They got some kind of tip, and it seemed they had a protocol for doing this, and it didn’t seem like they were enforcing any serious criminal laws that were being violated,” Gerhardstein said. “I certainly did see this as overreaching by local law enforcement that really wasn’t appropriate, for him (Jones) trying to be ICE himself.”

Gerhardstein said the case took two years and ended in the $100,000 settlement, which allowed his client to purchase a vehicle and start his own business in Mexico. He said the monetary settlement made his life down there a bit more tolerable.

There have been 24 suits filed — this may not include cases filed only against a deputy and not the sheriff — since 1995 and half have been dismissed. There are three pending cases, and the county has paid out $248,233 in settlements since 2009.

Frivolous lawsuits abound

Among the more frivolous lawsuits against the sheriff that have been dismissed, two of them belong to Edwin Tobergta, of Hamilton. Tobertga is notorious for having been charged five times with public indecency, once for having simulated sex with a rubber pool raft while standing naked on Ohio 4.

His first lawsuit came in 2005 when he claimed a corrections officer failed to protect him when his cellmate beat him up for masturbating in their cell.

“He beat the crap out of me and gave me two black eyes, cut over my right eye and bruised ribs on the left,” Tobergta detailed in his hand-written complaint. “CO Balinger did not do his job to protect a inmate.”

His case was dismissed the same day it was filed by the late federal Judge S. Arthur Spiegel.

Tobergta sued the sheriff a second time last summer, claiming he fell off a table and hurt his neck, but jail staff waited five hours to get him help. He also said the jail’s medical staff refused to give him the medication he takes “that helps my mental condition.”

His second complaint was dismissed two months later.

Several people have sued the sheriff and his staff over what they say was delayed or denied medical care.

Francis Pfeiffer spent 12 days in the jail on domestic violence and obstruction of justice charges. She took the sheriff to court in September 2010, saying she was refused her medication for chest congestion and to control panic attacks. She also claimed she was forced to wear the “pickle” suit reserved for those on suicide watch, without any underwear, although she was allegedly bleeding from two miscarriages. She also claimed she only had two showers during her stay, and deputies ridiculed her.

Chief Judge Susan Dlott granted the sheriff’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case in April 2012, saying the majority of Pfeiffer’s claims were unsubstantiated, and even if the deputies were mean to her, it was not a constitutional violation.

“Pfeiffer claims that Officer Stone told her to stop crying and stop acting like a baby, and that Officer Baker called her a stupid b…h,” the judge wrote. “As in Johnson, this alleged behavior is entirely unprofessional but is insufficient to establish an Eighth Amendment violation.”

Chief Tony Dwyer, of the sheriff’s office, said he sees just about every lawsuit filed against the sheriff and his department. He said they get allegations lodged against them all the time — though lawsuits rarely follow the complaints — but allegations are just that, and there are two sides to every story.

As for medical treatment, Dwyer said they put that at the forefront.

“I see most of the litigation that comes through and I review it, I review what’s being said by the officers,” he said. “I don’t see that there is a major issue with a lack of care or excessiveness on the part of the officers. And I’ve seen a lot.”

Former deputies have sued

Dwyer said he couldn’t comment on cases the sheriff’s office has settled, which is why he can’t talk about a case lodged by Michael Needham, a former deputy who said he was forced to resign over a campaign donation.

The complaint alleges Needham was asked to make a donation to Jones’ political campaign in the fall of 2004. Needham subsequently stopped payment on the check and was later moved to a “different position with far less challenge and responsibilities.”

Then in October 2005, the complaint alleges Dwyer told Needham he was being investigated for illegal drug use. Needham admitted he smoked marijuana in May because he was distressed over the death of his father and granddaughter. He ended up resigning, filed suit in October 2006, and it was settled in April 2008.

Another lawsuit involved a former deputy, Dennis Harris, who claimed he was shut out of “favorable work assignments” and eventually forced to resign because he participated in Jones’ opponent’s 2004 political campaign. The lawsuit states the reason the sheriff said Harris was forced to resign was based on “fabricated” allegations by a former female inmate at the jail.

“He tried to claim, well, it’s because I don’t support the sheriff,” Dwyer said. “Well, no it’s because you were making out with a former inmate, who’s on probation and that’s against the rules.”

Harris’ case was dismissed seven months after he filed it.

Sometimes it makes more sense to pay up

When a lawsuit is lodged against the sheriff it is either handled by the prosecutor’s office or turned over to the county’s liability insurance company, the County Risk Sharing Authority. Dwyer said it is a collective decision by the sheriff, county administration and CORSA as to whether to settle a case or not. Sometimes he said it makes more sense to pay up that accumulate legal fees fighting in court — in one instance the settlement was for a couple hundred dollars.

“There’s been times we felt we needed to go further, and they (CORSA) felt it wasn’t worth the money to defend it, and they wanted to settle. Generally, we reach a consensus,” Dwyer said. “Sometimes if you see a case that’s been settled, it doesn’t mean it was agreed upon totally. Sometimes it’s just going to cost you more than it’s going to take to settle it, just to defend yourself.”

There are three cases still pending in federal court: Holly McConnell who sued in March 2013 after her mom died in the jail due to complications from opiate withdrawal; Charles Waddell who claims he already had serious medical issues and weakened legs, so he broke his foot trying to get down from a top bunk — where he was placed after asking deputies to put him on a bottom bunk in the medical in the medical unit; and Tina Davis who is claiming false arrest in a drug case.

Mistakes sometimes get made

Dwyer said he can’t talk about pending litigation either. However, he acknowledged that while many of the suits are frivolous and properly dismissed, on occasion, mistakes have been made.

“Look, we’re all human, life goes on and people will make mistakes,” he said. “Sometimes you need to address those mistakes, correct them and move on.”

Attorney Jennifer Branch, who partners with Gerhardstein, has brought some of the most serious cases against the sheriff and the county. She said they are currently representing McConnell in the death of her mother. They obtained a settlement for Sheila McCullum whose son committed suicide in the jail in 2007. Stephanie Lampe was raped by a former deputy while he was doing security duty at a nightclub — they settled. And they had two terrible rape cases at the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center.

“The boys were each raped six months apart,” she said. “It was during that time before the new section of jail was open and they were overcrowded, and that’s why they were having problems there.”

Problems such as the detention center overcrowding are why many lawsuits are filed, according to Mike Brickner, senior policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. However, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996 has severely cut down on the filing of frivolous lawsuit. He said the law requires prisoners and inmates to exhaust all administrative remedies locally first; they have to pay to file regardless of whether they are indigent; there is a three strikes provision for frequent filers; and there are limitations on remedies judges can impose among other judicial restrictions.

Brinkner said the PLRA has so severely hampered the ability for prisoners or inmates to effect change in their incarceration conditions, many end up representing themselves. That’s where the ACLU’s free legal services come in, but they can’t just take on everyone.

“Things we look at when we decide whether or not we are going to bring a case are things like: what does the current law say, how likely is it that we are going to be successful in this type challenge?” he said. “And if we’re not successful, will it create bad case law? We also look at how many people are affected by these types of policies… We look at what type of litigation will help the most people.”

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