Sheriff's Office to fight lawsuit

LARGO -- The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will fight a lawsuit in which an inmate sayscorrections deputies broke his arm while placing him a restraint chair.

Elliott Campbell, 34, sued the Sheriff's Office last month. He is seeking more than $15,000.

Deputies placed Campbell, who is facing robbery charges, in a restraint chair because he was being unruly on Oct. 10, 2001. Campbell's arm was in a cast from a previous injury when he was booked into the jail and he was yelling that he needed medical attention.

Deputies placed Campbell in a restraint chair, which is used to subdue inmates who are particularly unruly, disruptive or violent. Straps are secured around the inmate's hands, feet and waist to immobilize them. Sheriff's Office policy requires deputies to videotape anyone being placed in the chair.

In the video of the incident involving Campbell, which has been reviewed by the Times, deputies sit Campbell in a chair. One moves his left arm to place it in a strap, which prompts a blood-curdling scream from Campbell. He yells: "My arm! My arm!"

Campbell says the deputies re-broke his arm.

The video offers inconclusive evidence of whether Campbell's arm was actually re-broken or if he is just acting. Campbell's medical records were not included in the lawsuit.

In a memo to commissioners, County Attorney Susan Churuti recommended that the county fight the lawsuit.

The memo indicates that Campbell was medically screened and examined when he was booked into the jail and consistently thereafter.

"It appears that he fractured his arm a few days earlier, that the arm was not set but placed into a temporary cast pending surgery to repair the fracture," the memo reads. "(Campbell) was arrested the day his surgery was to take place and therefore his arm was fractured and remained fractured."

The videotape "demonstrates nothing significant that would have caused or contributed to a re-fracturing of an arm," the memo states. "Thus, it appears this case is without merit."

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