The mother and children of an inmate who died in 2023 while in custody is suing Los Angeles County and various sheriff’s staff for purported civil rights violations, alleging in federal court that the 48-year-old man died after being ignored by guards at Men’s Central Jail as he exhibited symptoms of a major heart attack in his cell and begged deputies not to let him die.
“Any loss of life is tragic, especially those who are within our custody,” a representative for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement to City News Service Monday.
While not specifically addressing the lawsuit, the department said the agency and its partners “thoroughly investigate each in-custody death for policy and procedure issues and assessment of care. The department oversight bodies are encouraged to participate in the review process and are present to discuss corrective or preventative action. The department takes every in-custody death seriously and strives to make every effort possible to prevent similar deaths in the future.”
The lawsuit alleges that on the evening of April 26, 2023, Abel Garcia’s cell mates observed him exhibiting symptoms of serious medical distress and a likely cardiac event. The cell mates and nearby inmates called out for medical attention for Garcia, who had a known history of heart problems, the suit contends.
After a “significant” period of time, an LASD custody assistant came to the cell, according to the lawsuit filed March 26 in downtown Los Angeles.
The custody assistant was later joined by additional LASD deputies, who gathered outside the cell and “verbally berated (Garcia) as he exhibited the common symptoms of a major heart attack and begged the deputies not to let him die,” according to the lawsuit brought on behalf of Garcia’s mother, Teresa Garcia, and two children.
“It was not until Mr. Garcia fell over and became non-responsive that the deputies finally summoned medical care. It was too late, and Mr. Garcia was pronounced dead that same day,” the suit contends.
“Abel Garcia is one of many victims of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s inhumane and unconstitutional practice of refusing to provide medical care to people incarcerated in its jails,” plaintiffs’ attorney Rebecca Brown said in a statement. “Abel Garcia’s life mattered. We must hold LASD accountable and stop in-custody deaths.”
The LASD runs the nation’s largest jail system and, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, leads the country in in-custody deaths.
Los Angeles County has “abysmally and routinely failed to uphold its obligations under the Eighth Amendment,” which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, the complaint, which also alleges wrongful death, contends.
The county’s alleged “failure to attend to the serious medical needs of the people in its custody had led to an unprecedented crisis and a surge in in-custody deaths,” according to the suit, which states that between 2019 and 2023, 231 people died in the custody of LASD, including 45 people last year.
Garcia had been in LASD’s custody since May 2022, and had a documented recent history of high blood pressure and heart problems “that were well known” to jailers, the suit naming the county and 20 unidentified custody assistants and deputies as defendants states.
At the time of his death, Garcia was serving a 16-month jail term with credit for time served and good time/work time, the suit says.