TALLAHASSEE

Teen's family sues for $40M over death at boot camp:
The state's juvenile justice agency and the sheriff's office that ran a Panama City boot camp are being sued for the wrongful death of a teen.

BY MARC CAPUTO

mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com

TALLAHASSEE - The family of Martin Lee Anderson filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Wednesday seeking at least $40 million from the sheriff's office and the state agency that oversaw the Panama City boot camp where the 14-year-old was beaten by guards before he died.

Family attorney Benjamin Crump said his clients offered to settle out of court for $3.1 million -- the full value of the Bay County Sheriff's Office insurance policy -- but the overture was rejected.

The sheriff's office issued a written statement saying settling the case would be ''premature because the investigation is incomplete and still pending at this time.'' The Department of Juvenile Justice wouldn't comment, either.

Martin died Jan. 5, hours after he was admitted to the boot camp for reasons related to the theft of his grandmother's car. His death led to the closure of the boot camp, a tough law leading to the closure of two others -- leaving just one in Florida -- a large protest at the state Capitol and the resignation of Florida Department of Law Enforcement chief Guy Tunnell, who quit after making inappropriate remarks about black leaders scheduled to appear at the event.

Tunnell's agency had declined to release a videotape of Martin's last moments at the camp that Tunnell had founded a decade ago when he was Bay County's sheriff.

The Miami Herald and CNN sued for the release of the tape, which showed Martin stumble while running laps. About seven guards used pressure-point techniques, punched his arms, kneed him, slammed him to the ground and shoved ammonia capsules in his nose in an apparent attempt to revive him and get him to comply with their orders.

''These heinous, malicious, and torturous treatments led to his death,'' Crump said. ``It was a murder.''

An autopsy by Bay County's medical examiner determined that Martin died from complications of sickle-cell trait -- a blood disorder primarily affecting those of African descent -- and not the beating.

A second autopsy, suggested by Gov. Jeb Bush, determined that Martin wasn't beaten to death but that he suffocated, primarily due to the ammonia capsules.

Attorneys for the boot camp guards have said the first autopsy will exonerate their clients. They insist the guards did nothing wrong since they followed longstanding procedures. A criminal investigation is under way and no charges have been filed.

Jim White, an attorney who represents guard Raymond Hauck, said Martin's family will have an easier time pursuing a civil action, rather than a criminal case, because the standard of proof is lower.

Still, Florida law generally caps damage awards against governmental agencies at $100,000.

Any amount above that would require what's known as a legislative ''claims bill'' in which state lawmakers sponsor legislation for the additional money after a final judgment -- a process that often subjects families to years of waiting because of the vagaries of the Legislature.

The family filed its suit in Leon County, where the DJJ is based. White noted that juries in the state's capital are more liberal than their Panama City counterparts. ''There's not much sentiment here in Bay County for those kinds of judgments,'' he said, adding that public opinion also favors his client.

Crump, with Martin's parents, Gina Jones and Robert Anderson, at his side, compared Martin's case to the Texas boot camp death of 18-year-old Bryan Alexander, whose parents won a $40.1 million verdict in 2003. Bryan Alexander died from a penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia. Crump said he expects government attorneys to go on a ''witch hunt'' to discredit his clients in the lawsuit.

Martin's parents said little during the press conference.

''Just to all the parents,'' said Jones, ``whenever you are at home, hug your children. Imagine the loss of losing one, like I lost mine.''