Facts

Heron Moriarty was arrested on May 25, 2016. Six days later, he committed suicide in his cell. His widow, plaintiff Michelle Moriarty, filed a civil action against the County of San Diego, and others. On May 25, 2016, at 7:52 p.m., deputies Escobar and Dwyer responded to a report of vandalism, which they learned had been committed by Moriarty. Shortly thereafter, deputies were sent to another address nearby, in response to a man threatening suicide. En route to that call, another call for assistance described a man who had crashed into several parked cars and was standing in the street attempting to get hit by passing cars. Moriarty was involved in all three incidents. Moriarty was arrested and initially taken to the Rancho San Diego holding station, but once deputies realized Moriarty was having a mental breakdown, they moved him to Central Jail. Due to a temporary policy then in place, Moriarty was not taken for psychological clearance. When nurse Preechar asked Moriarty whether he was suicidal, Moriarty responded "no," then "yes." Moriarty was then transferred to Vista Detention Facility because Central Jail did not have a safety cell available. Again, Moriarty was not taken for psychological clearance because of the policy then in place. The intake nurse was not informed that Moriarty was suicidal, but was told that Moriarty had been turned away from Central jail because it had no available safety cells. That same afternoon, Moriarty was transferred back to Central Jail and put on a psych hold when his behavior became bizarre and threatening. He was then put into an ad-seg cell in Vista Detention Facility by himself. Plaintiff called the detention facility repeatedly, telling the staff that Moriarty was suicidal, and needed to be transported to a psychiatric hospital. Moriarty was later examined by a psychiatrist but sent back to his cell. While there, Moriarty refused to take his medication, warned staff that he would become violent and kill anyone who entered his cell, but was still refused a safety cell even after a recommendation by Nurse Daniels, a psychiatric nurse. Dale Weidenthaler, the sergeant in charge, denied the safety cell recommendation because "it was [his] Friday" and he was "leaving early." Thirty minutes later, Daniels presented her findings on Moriarty to members of a Multi Disciplinary Group for the purposes of determining the proper treatment and housing for Moriarty. During her presentation, Daniels did not notify the members that psychotic, refusing medicines, homicidal, manic, and that she had recommended a safety cell which was rejected by Weidenthaler. The jail captain present in the MDG meeting testified he would have placed Moriarty in a safety cell had Daniels communicated her initial clinical findings.
On May 31st, 2016, Moriarty used two T-shirts to choke himself and was found dead in his cell.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: According to plaintiff's first amended complaint, Moriarty exhibited signs of mental illness, had two psychiatric hospitalizations in the weeks leading up to his death, and each hospitalization resulted in Moriarty being placed on holds. Plaintiff contended that if defendants had taken Moriarty for psychological evaluation and clearance, they would have learned about his two early holds. But, because of an alleged lack of training, they incorrectly thought that the policies for the Vista Detention Facility and the policies for Central Jail were the same. Plaintiff further contended that the intake nurse disregarded warnings about Moriarty being suicidal, and did not flag Moriarty as a suicide risk, thus sending him through the ordinary booking process. Plaintiff contended that Moriarty should have been forced to take his medication, or otherwise treated. Plaintiff also contended that Moriarty should have been kept under more constant observation or at least given a cell mate. Plaintiff contended that Dr. Lissaur, one of the psychiatrists that evaluated Moriarty, failed to recognize Moriarty's high risk of suicide. Plaintiff contended that Nurse Daniels' failure to advocate for Moriarty resulted in his death.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all contentions.

Result

Plaintiff agreed to settle with the County of San Diego and Weidenthaler for $2,950,000. Plaintiff agreed to settle with Dr. Lissaur for $200,000.

Other Information

Plaintiff has yet to settle with the remaining defendants.