09/05/2022
On Monday 8/29/2022, a Multnomah County jury awarded slightly over $450k to my clients Michael and Janice Derby against Columbia County.
The case arose from the Columbia County Jail’s mistreatment of the Derby’s mentally ill, schizophrenic son Billy. When Billy was in the jail for 7.5 months, Columbia County kept him locked in a cell by himself for over 5,000 of the total 5,400 hours in incarceration. When Billy’s mental state declined and he refused 24 out of 36 meals in a 12-day period, which led to more than 25 lbs. of weight loss in a month, corrections officers did nothing. When a judge ordered Columbia County to transfer Billy out of the jail to a treatment facility, Columbia County never followed through. And when Billy’s behavior would become erratic and bizarre, corrections officers would often discipline him by confining him even more to his cell, rather than give him meaningful access to mental health services. We argued at trial that this equated to Billy being punished for his mental illness.
Shortly after Billy was released from the jail in April 2017, he looked horrible. His family described him as weak, barely speaking, non-communitive, could barely shuffle his feet around, and a zombie. Four days after his release, Billy collapsed and was unconscious in his parents’ home. He was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital where he was diagnosed with weight loss, problems relating to release from prison (jail), and electrolyte abnormality.
Billy was then placed on a mental health hold for two days at Unity Behavioral Health.
On April 16, 2017, Easter Sunday, Billy decided he wanted to help cook a prime rib. His mother Janice left the kitchen for a few minutes. When she returned, she asked how it was coming. Billy turned around while holding a filet knife, and cut her throat at least 2-3 times. Michael Derby, Janice’s husband and Billy’s father, heard his wife’s screams from the basement and ran up the stairs to see his son trying to murder his wife. Michael wrestled Billy off Janice, and they both managed to escape to their bedroom. Michael took out his rifle from under their bed and aimed it at the door, preparing himself to shoot his own son if Billy came through that door. Thankfully, he never did.
Billy later pled guilty to assault in the second degree except for insanity. It was determined after a thorough mental health evaluation that at the time of the attack, Billy held the delusional belief his mother was an imposter. No drugs were found in his system.
Our theory of the case was that if the jail had not mistreated and neglected Billy to the degree it did, his mental condition would not have deteriorated so drastically where he would attack his own mother with a knife. Dr. Soroush Mohandessi, a Portland based psychiatrist, testified that the jail’s mistreatment placed Billy into a psychotic state, and that was why Billy attacked his mother. We also had Dr. Michael Hames-Garcia, a former professor at the University of Oregon, who is an expert on academic studies relating to jails and the mentally ill. He testified that the Columbia County Jail’s training and policies were very minimal and contrary to best practices, and that the jail should have known that isolating the mentally ill for prolonged periods of time, and disciplining them with no consideration for their mental illness, is well documented to have severe negative effects.
We urged the jury to send a message with its verdict that this type of treatment of the mentally ill is unacceptable. We are very grateful they listened because most sheriff’s departments have very little oversight, and statistically speaking, litigation is the most effective means of bringing about the positive systemic change we’re looking for.
We are hopeful that whoever wins the next election for Columbia County Sheriff, Sheriff Brian Pixley or Terry Massey, will have better policies drafted and require a higher degree of mental health training of their corrections officers. It is time to adapt to modern standards and we must demand better for our society’s most vulnerable.
https://pamplinmedia.com/scs/83-news/557133-445899-columbia-county-ordered-to-pay-451k-to-family-of-former-inmate?iMonezaUT=cf50c27b-6bab-4ea7-bad2-6c19938bf772%7c637983724755396392%7c638299084755396392%7crhGvbjIbAWROjav6fAeje9M6XEh3xBirU8FFQUGLlAk&iMonezaLT=yb5WKlxrAhT1wNAS97MH65p2uOms3g9U #
A jury found the county was negligent by not giving adequate training to jail staff about mental health.
