A man died in Sacramento police custody. His family just received a settlement from CDCR
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the City of Sacramento have both paid settlements to the family of Brandon Smith who died in police custody in 2018.
CDCR paid $300,000, while the city paid $99,000, according to a January settlement agreement the city posted to its web page last week.
Brandon Smith’s mother, Yolanda Ford, along with his three minor children, represented by guardian Keyanna Washington, filed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2018 in federal court, represented by civil rights attorney John Burris.
The incident began in June 2018, when Ford 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.
That afternoon, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation parole officers Angelle Garner and Charles Mosby transported Brandon Smith in a caged truck to the Volunteers of America Comprehensive Alcohol Treatment Center, the lawsuit alleged. During transport, agents saw 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. Agents called police to help transport him to the downtown jail for further evaluation.
When the officer Marcus Frank and county Department of Behavioral Health mental health counselor Elizabeth Almendarez arrived, Brandon Smith had rolled out of his chair and was lying on the floor.
Brandon Smith 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.
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 the cause of death was a meth overdose.
The lawsuit named the city and county as defendants. It also names Frank, Almendarez, Garner and Mosby as defendants.
CDCR declined comment for this story as it does not comment on litigation, said spokeswoman Mary Xjimenez. Mosby and Garner are still parole officers, she said.
The city also declined comment other than to say Frank is still a police officer, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.
County spokeswoman Kim Nava declined comment on the lawsuit, but said Almendarez is no lounger a county employee.
This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
