By C1 Staff
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — A Santa Clara County jail inmate is suing the county and the deputies who performed a cell extraction on him, which he claims violated his rights as a disabled person.
The inmate, only referred to as Mr. Miller by NBC News, is seen in surveillance footage made public being moved from his cell so deputies can perform a cell inspection. The inmate refuses to move, and is ultimately pepper sprayed, placed in a wheelchair and moved to a decontamination unit.
But according to the inmate’s lawyer, Miller is no longer able to stand following a seizure and fall in March of last year, prior to the extraction. He requires a wheelchair to be moved.
Mark Garcia, a former correctional officer who used to work at the Santa Clara County Jail for five years, reviewed the footage, and said he would have called a nurse.
He also said that wheelchairs are readily available for correctional officers.
“You should know the guy’s medical background,” Garcia said. “Does he need a chair? Get him one.”
But Garcia said he saw nothing grossly negligent in the video because he doesn’t know the full extent of the circumstances surrounding the extraction.
Miller was ruled competent enough to stand trial for his charges, which include attempted murder, but there are questions about his mental stability.
The sheriff’s office stated that cell extractions are often made in “consultation with medical staff based on what’s necessary for the inmate.
“We believe that Mr. Miller received car consistent with his medical needs.”
They also stated that, after reviewing internal videos, that Miller was moved according to policy.