On Aug. 13, 2010, plaintiffs’ decedent Martin Harrison, 49, a laid off electrical supply worker, was arrested for jaywalking in Oakland, and a warrant check revealed a bench warrant for his arrest for failing to appear at court for a driving-under-the-influence (DUI) charge in April 2010. He was subsequently arrested and booked into the Alameda County jail system’s Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility, in Oakland. Alameda County contracts with the for-profit corporation, Corizon Health Inc., to provide medical services to inmates in Alameda County’s jails. Corizon assigned Licensed Vocational Nurse Zelda Sancho to do an unsupervised intake medical screening on Harrison, who allegedly told Sancho that he drinks every day, that his last drink was on the day of his arrest, and that he had a history of alcohol withdrawal. Allegedly, Sancho initially decided to put Harrison on alcohol withdrawal protocols, but then changed her mind and sent him into the general jail population with no medical follow-up whatsoever. Two days later, Harrison went into severe alcohol withdrawal, Delirium Tremens (DT’s), a life-threatening medical emergency that is fatal in up to 35 percent of cases. When Harrison began hallucinating, Deputy Matthew Ahlf put Harrison into an isolation cell. However, Ahlf did not summon any medical or mental health care. As a result, Harrison languished in isolation for over 14 hours before flooding the isolation cell by plugging his toilet. When Ahlf came to move Harrison out of the flooded cell, Harrison had his mattress over his head and was screaming that people were trying to kill him. Ahlf did not use a cuffing port to handcuff Harrison before trying to move him. Thus, when Harrison “tensed” during his interaction with Ahlf and looked at the deputy with a “thousand mile stare,” Ahlf shoved him to the back of the cell and shocked Harrison twice with a Taser. He then called for backup, claiming that Harrison was attacking him. Nine other deputies arrived, and the 10 deputies allegedly repeatedly beat, kicked, and shocked Harrison with a Taser until he was unconscious. Harrison was then transferred to Valley Care Medical Center, in Pleasanton. However, Harrision never regained consciousness and he died two days later, on Aug. 18, 2010. The decedent’s four adult children (Joseph Harrison, Krystle Harrison, Martin Harrison Jr., and Tiffany Harrison) and the decedent’s minor child (through the child’s guardian ad litem, the decedent’s wife, Michelle Henshaw) sued the 10 deputies, Matthew Ahlf, Alejandro Valverde, Joshua Swetnam, Roberto Martinez, Zachary Litvinchuk, Ryan Madigan, Michael Bareno, Fernando Rojas-Castaneda, Shawn Sobrero, Solomon Unubun; the deputies’ supervisor, Sheriff Gregory Ahern; and their employer, the county of Alameda. The decedent’s children also sued the Licensed Vocational Nurse, Zelda Sancho; Dr. Harold Orr; a social worker, Megan Hast; and their employer, Corizon Health Inc. The unidentified minor plaintiff, M.H., accepted a $1 million in 2013. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial on the claims of the four adult plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Corizon allowed its licensed vocational nurse, Sancho, to do an unsupervised intake medical screening of the decedent, who was then sent into the general jail population with severe alcohol withdrawal. Counsel asserted evidence revealed that Corizon had licensed vocational nurses do work outside their legal scope of practice. Counsel noted that, under California law, licensed vocational nurses are not allowed to practice independently, and must be supervised by a physician or registered nurse at all times. Also under the law, licensed vocational nurses are allowed to collect data, but they are not allowed to do a nursing assessment on patients or formulate a plan for the patient’s care. Plaintiffs’ counsel further contended that Corizon pays licensed vocational nurses about 35 percent less than it pays registered nurses and that it allows licensed vocational nurses to do the work of registered nurses. Accordingly, counsel contended that for every licensed vocational nurse that Corizon allowed to do the work of an registered nurse, Corizon saved 35 percent in nursing costs. In addition, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the decedent should have been put on alcohol withdrawal protocols, which would have allowed him to detoxify from alcohol safely, but that instead, the decedent was placed in an isolation cell when he began hallucinating. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that the decedent weighed 142 pounds and was outnumbered 10-1 and that the deputies admitted that the decedent never struck or kicked any of them. Counsel contended that despite the decedent never striking any deputy, the decedent was severely beaten and shocked into unconsciousness by 10 sheriff’s deputies. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the deputies’ actions constituted excessive force and deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. Counsel also asserted that the 10 deputies did not receive the required biennial training, pursuant to national accrediting standards set forth by the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare (NCCHC), and that the deputy who encountered the decedent while the decedent was in life-threatening DT, Ahlf, was negligent for failing to summon the medical care that the decedent needed. In addition, counsel asserted that the county was negligent for failing to properly train Ahlf to recognize the signs and symptoms of the decedent’s withdrawal. Defense counsel contended that the decedent lied to Sancho and told her that he did not have a history of alcohol withdrawal or an alcohol problem. Counsel also contended that the decedent never told any of the nursing staff or correctional staff that he had a drinking problem and that the decedent failed to inform the medical or jail staff when he began experiencing withdrawal. The county claimed that its deputies received adequate training and that only the amount of force necessary was used in restraining the decedent. It also claimed that the deputies were attempting to subdue the decedent and that the decedent was only beaten because he was struggling against the deputies’ attempts to subdue him. Defense counsel contended that it took nine deputies to subdue the decedent and that the decedent seemed to have superhuman strength while he was struggling and refusing to cooperate the entire time. Corizon’s counsel contended that if the deputies had informed Corizon at any time that the decedent was in withdrawal, Corizon’s employees would have saved him, but that, instead, the deputies beat the decedent to death. In response, the county’s counsel contended that shocking the decedent with Tasers and beating him did not cause the decedent’s death, but that the decedent died from untreated alcohol withdrawal caused by Corizon’s failures. The county’s counsel further contended that the decedent’s death was caused by a combination of DTs and the decedent’s exertion, which, when combined, led to cardiac arrest., Martin Harrison sustained numerous contusions and abrasions from the incident with the 10 deputies and he shocked with a Taser several times. He ultimately became unconscious. He was then transferred to Valley Care Medical Center, in Pleasanton, but he never regained consciousness. Harrision died two days later, on Aug. 18, 2010. He was 49 years old. The decedent previously met Rosemarie Martinez in 1984, at the age of 23, and they were married in 1986. They had four children, Tiffany Harrison, twins Martin Harrison Jr. and Krystle Harrison, and youngest son Joseph Harrison. In 1993, the decedent and Martinez divorced, but the decedent allegedly maintained close and loving relationships with his children, and a close friendship with Martinez, for the rest of his life. In 2003, the decedent had a fifth child with Michelle Henshaw. The decedent was allegedly very close with his siblings and mother, Willmanette, but that his mother died in 2008. Distraught, he began drinking to excess and became alcohol dependent. The decedent allegedly knew he had a drinking problem, and wanted to stop. His children claimed that their father cried about his drinking problem when they discussed it with him. In April 2010, the decedent was involved in an automobile accident (which did not cause any injuries) while he was intoxicated. He allegedly felt awful about the accident and knew he needed to recover from his alcohol dependence. He also allegedly knew he would serve time in jail, and his children claimed that he told them that he planned to use his time in jail to detox from alcohol and start on a healing path. The decedent is survived by his children, Tiffany Harrison (age 28), twins Martin Harrison Jr. and Krystle Harrison (ages 26), Joseph Harrison (age 25), and “M.H.” (a minor). He is also survived by two grandsons; and his siblings Sharon, Gerald, Diane, Denise, Jenny, and Sheila. Another brother, Earl, predeceased him. The decedent’s children sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their father. Defense counsel contended that the decedent had a longstanding alcohol problem and that the decedent had an estranged relationship with his children. Defense counsel noted that in the children’s testimonies, one of them said that he or she had not spoken with the decedent for two years, while a couple of the children said that they had spoken with the decedent a few times.