Boot camp suit
asks $40M
The family of Martin Lee Anderson, who
died after a pummeling in boot camp, goes to court.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 13, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - The family of a
14-year-old who died hours after a manhandling by guards at a
juvenile boot camp sued Wednesday, seeking more than $40-million in
damages from state and local agencies.
Ben Crump, who represents the family
of Martin Lee Anderson, filed the suit against the Department of
Juvenile Justice and the Bay County Sheriff's Office, which ran the
camp under contract with the state.
Crump said the Sheriff's Office
rejected an offer to settle for its insurance policy limit of
$3-million.
The teenager's January death led to
protests, the resignation of the head of the state's law enforcement
agency and the elimination of military-style boot camps.
Anderson died in Pensacola after his
videotaped ordeal with guards in the Panama City boot camp.
"As seven guards punished Martin by
kicking, punching, kneeing, choking and slamming him while they
jammed ammonia tablets up his nose and covered his mouth, a nurse
watched him slip in and out of consciousness," Crump said. "These
heinous, malicious, and torturous treatments led to his death."
The lawsuit was filed late Wednesday
in Leon Circuit Court.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with
the family of Martin Lee Anderson," Juvenile Justice Secretary
Anthony Schembri said, while declining to comment on the lawsuit.
Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen
said no settlement was reached because it would be premature. "The
investigation is incomplete and still pending," his written
statement said.
Crump said he based the $40-million
figure largely on a similar Texas case, in which a jury awarded a
family $40.1-million after their 18-year-old died while being forced
to complete intense physical programs in a boot camp despite pleas
for medical help.
Anderson collapsed after an intense
workout at the Panama City camp, where he was sent for a probation
violation.
In a ruling that caused an uproar,
Bay County's medical examiner issued a finding that Anderson's death
was natural, due to complications of a usually harmless blood
disorder called sickle cell trait. Gov. Jeb Bush then turned the
investigation over to a special prosecutor, Hillsborough County
State Attorney Mark Ober. The body was exhumed and a second autopsy
concluded that Anderson died of suffocation resulting from guards'
covering his mouth while forcing ammonia capsules up his nose trying
to revive him.
Ober is still deciding whether to
charge any of the guards.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
chief Guy Tunnell resigned after questions arose about his
involvement in the investigation.
[Last modified
July 13, 2006, 05:57:13] |
