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Investigators: Mother files lawsuit over disabled son's treatment in jail

06:49 PM PST on Thursday, February 14, 2008

By LINDA BYRON / KING 5 News

Feb. 13, 2008: Tapes reveal treatment of jailed disabled man

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. – A $10 million claim was filed today against the Kitsap County Jail by a mother who believes jailers stood by and watched as her developmentally disabled son deteriorated so badly he became an invalid.

Before he went into the Kitsap County Jail, Bill Trask was mentally impaired, but physically strong. He had a job and played sports year-round.

Now he spends his days in diapers and a wheelchair. His mother, Marie Watson, blames the Kitsap County Jail for his decline.

In July 2006 Marie Watson called 911 because Trask had hit her. He was booked for a misdemeanor assault.

Twenty-two days later, he was sent to a hospital in an ambulance.

"He was dehydrated, he had bacteria in his blood, he had gangrene on four of his fingers, his kidneys were failing," Marie Watson said.

She says: "I've lost my son."

The KING 5 Investigators went inside the jail to examine Trask's case. He spent much of his time in a crisis cell, where jailers watched him constantly.

The in-house surveillance tapes paint a picture of a man breaking down. He slaps the walls. Tries to shove his clothes down the drain. Rolls around for hours and throws away his food. 

"Day after day, hours after hour, he engages in behavior that should be clear danger," said Tim Tesh, attorney. "There's no intervention. They just continue to throw him a sack lunch which he shoves down the drain."

Tesh filed a $10 million claim for damages on behalf of Trask and his mother, alleging the jail recklessly disregarded Trask's obvious developmental disabilities.

KING

Trask now spends his days in diapers and a wheelchair.

"There's supposed to be medical people there and nobody did anything, he was treated like a dog," Watson said.

Watson complained, but says no one's ever explained what happened to her son.

A jail sergeant did a preliminary investigation into the mother's complaint about her son's treatment. The sergeant ruled allegations that guards had kicked Trask as "unfounded," but no one ever fully investigated the bigger issue of his medical decline. 

The sheriff's office, which oversees this jail, said there was no internal affairs investigation because "there was no wrongdoing on the part of anyone. Everything was done according to standard procedures."

Trask's collapse was discovered by a doctor checking inmates for chicken pox.  

Experts who examined him say severe dehydration could have caused his brain damage.

KING

Trask's mother, Marie Watson, said: "I've lost my son. I really have."

In a written statement the sheriff told us he's sympathetic to the seriousness of Trask's health situation, but believes what happened is not the jail's fault.

The jail knew Trask was developmentally disabled. The arresting officer flagged him as mentally retarded, and 12 days into his stay Kitsap Mental Health evaluated him. But they only recommended "special care and handling" which basically amounted to being put in the padded crisis cell for his own safety.

Kitsap Mental Health is also named in the lawsuit that was filed today.

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