A man who won a $3.3 million verdict in a federal lawsuit over the death of his son from a fentanyl overdose while in custody at the Theo Lacy Jail three years ago criticized county officials Tuesday for lax standards in caring for mentally ill inmates.
Jay and Rosalee Campos won the verdict Friday in a federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of their son, 28-year-old Joshua Campos, who died while in custody March 7, 2022.
Jay Campos told reporters at a news conference how he has struggled over the years caring for Joshua and his 31-year-old brother, both of whom have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Joshua Campos’ brother is in a mental health facility under a conservatorship, his father said.
When officials take custody of anyone under a psychiatric hold — commonly known as a 5150 hold — it lasts a few days, Jay Campos said.
“Four days later they’re on the street again. And then I can’t find (Joshua) for two weeks. That’s part of the system that’s broken,” he said.
“They’ll say he’s OK, now goodbye,” Jay Campos said.
“They’ll ask, `Are you suicidal? Do you hear voices?”’ Campos said. “And the voices might be a voice telling them to say they’re OK.”
County officials declined comment, considering the issue pending litigation because there are still post-trial motions to be considered, a spokeswoman said. A sheriff’s spokeswoman referred questions to county officials.
Jay Campos said he “never really thought of money at all,” when asked if the verdict offered any consolation. The lawsuit “was just to see the people (held) responsible,” he added.
Campos said he was consistently told by officials that they did not know anything about Joshua Campos.
“I’m glad they know who he is now,” he said.
The father says he wants to open up a nonprofit to advocate for the civil rights of the mentally ill.
Jay Campos said he coached his sons in football and they became Christians. He remembered how religious his son was as a teen.
“He loved going to church,” Jay Campos said of Joshua. “I would get home from work too tired to go and he’d say, `C’mon Dad, let’s go to church.”’
Joshua Campos also freely would say, “I love you” to his family members until the mental health issues began to surface.
“I’ve been dealing with this with my kid for 15 years,” Jay Campos said. “They put them in (custody) and they send them right out. After years and years it became disheartening. It’s dangerous in there and dangerous out here.”
County officials never made a settlement offer in the case, according to Campos’ attorney, Christian Contreras. The lawsuit was filed under the legal theory of municipal liability for a failure to train employees.
“The crux of the case” was the decision to send Campos from a medical unit for suicidal inmates to Theo Lacy, Contreras said.
“He never should have been sent to general population,” the attorney said.
Joshua Campos was arrested in Los Angeles on a warrant, and officials there were following the “proper protocol,” Contreras said.
Joshua was evaluated by a medical professional when he was transferred to Orange County to face misdemeanor charges, and was declared “just fine” despite having been diagnosed with schizophrenia by Orange County since 2014, Contreras said.
In an Orange County District Attorney’s Office review of the death released in November 2023, prosecutors did not find the case showed enough evidence of a crime.
Joshua Campos was booked into Orange County’s jail system on March 4, 2022.
“Campos reported that he was diagnosed with `schizo,’ and admitted hearing voices or seeing things others to not hear or see,” according to the District Attorney’s Office report. “He also reported having past suicidal ideations and suicide attempts, but denied having current suicidal ideations.”
A jail official documented Campos’ mental health history and rated his condition as moderate to severe, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“During his mental health screening, Campos reported being diagnosed with shcizoaffective disorder approximately five years prior for which he was currently taking Zyprexa,” according to the district attorney’s report. “Campos reported auditory hallucinations. Campos was described as `disheveled, withdrawn, and paranoid.’ ”
That prompted officials to place him on psychiatric observation and recommended housing him in a mental health unit. He was also prescribed Zyprexa.
The next day, however, his condition was upgraded to “moderate” and Campos said he was “fine” and wanted to be transferred to general population, prosecutors reported. That evening he was transferred to Theo Lacy.
Joshua was put in a cell with another inmate and video surveillance showed the two “snorting” a drug March 7, 2022, prosecutors reported.
The cellmate attempted to revive Campos and pushed an emergency button for help, prosecutors said. The District Attorney’s Office said deputies “responded immediately” and arrived within a half-minute.
Attempts to save Campos with Narcan failed. Some first responders were delayed five minutes by a broken-down elevator, prosecutors said.
The lawsuit identified the cellmate as Daniel Hill and alleged he was the first to see there was a problem with Campos despite footage showing he was “exhibiting a bizarre swaying behavior while holding his chest for a few minutes before attempting to lay down.”
Hill pushed the emergency button and after “a few minutes of no response from defendants, Hill begins repeatedly calling out for help, yelling down to defendants that Campos was not breathing,” the lawsuit alleged.
“Approximately 10 minutes after Hill first hit the emergency button, there had still been no response from defendants, at which point Hill resolved to attempt CPR on Campos himself,” the lawsuit alleged.
Hill’s attempts at CPR are what finally prompted the deputies to respond, the lawsuit alleged.