Mother, children of man who died in Sacramento police custody file federal lawsuit
The mother and children of a man who died in Sacramento police custody last year have sued the city of Sacramento and Sacramento County in federal court.
Brandon Smith’s mother, Yolanda Smith, along with his three minor children, represented by guardian Keyanna Washington, filed the wrongful death lawsuit last week in federal court.
The lawsuit, filed by high-profile civil rights attorney John Burris on behalf of the family, names the city and county as defendants. It also names county Department of Behavioral Health mental health counselor Elizabeth Almendarez; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation parole officers Angelle Garner and PA Mosby; and Sacramento police officer Marcus Frank as defendants.
The city, county and state declined comment on the lawsuit because they have not yet received it, according to their spokespeople.
On the morning of her son’s death on June 6, 2018, Yolanda Smith contacted her son’s parole office asking for help with his recent drug relapse, and Garner told her to bring him to the parole office, the lawsuit alleged. While there, Brandon Smith signed a voluntary statement of admission disclosing he used heroin and methamphetamine the previous day, the lawsuit alleged.
That afternoon, Garner and Mosby transported Brandon Smith in a caged truck to the Volunteers of America Comprehensive Alcohol Treatment Center, the lawsuit alleged. During transport, agents noticed he was jittery and anxious, signs he was under the influence of drugs, meaning he wouldn’t be allowed to be admitted to the VOA facility, the lawsuit said.
Agents called police officers to help transport Brandon Smith to the Sacramento Main Jail for further evaluation, the lawsuit said. When Officer Frank arrived, Brandon Smith had rolled out of his chair and was lying on the floor, the lawsuit said.
He first told the officials “I’m good,” but as he was being carried out of the building, exclaimed, “I feel like I’m having a heart attack!” police video showed and the lawsuit pointed out.
While transporting Brandon Smith to the jail, Almendarez warned Frank, “You don’t want him seizing or having a heart attack in the back of the wagon,” the lawsuit alleged. Frank stated that he looked fine and just appeared to be lying down, the lawsuit alleged.
When they got to the jail, Frank opened the back door, found Brandon Smith face down and unresponsive, called paramedics and began to administer CPR, the lawsuit said. Smith was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy found Brandon Smith died from a methamphetamine overdose.
“Defendants were on notice that (Smith) was in the midst of a life-threatening medical emergency, likely a drug overdose, that could kill him, but did nothing to expedite medical care,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, they deliberately delayed medical treatment by driving around with him in the back of the wagon, not even taking him to a hospital when anyone would have known that he needed to receive immediate medical treatment to save his life.”
Frank is still employed as a Sacramento police officer, city spokesman Tim Swanson said. He was hired in 1995, city records show.
Almendarez is still a county employee, county spokeswoman Kim Nava said.
Garner and Mosby are still employed by the CDCR, spokesman Luis Patino said.
This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 12:45 PM.
