Federal lawsuit filed in jail cell death

The parents of a man who died in a Laguna Beach city jail cell in January 2006 said they filed a $12.5 million wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit in federal court April 6.

Terry and Kathleen Dunlevy accuse the Laguna Beach Police Department of denying medical aid to Matthew Dunlevy, 25, who was taken to jail by force after refusing to leave the ladies’ room at the White House restaurant in downtown Laguna Beach late on Jan. 5, 2006.

“My son should still be with us today,” Terry Dunlevy said in an interview from Arizona. “Matthew was 25, healthy and a workout nut. He was taken from us by the Laguna Beach Police Department.”

The Dunlevys accuse police of repeatedly using a Taser device on their son, beating him unconscious and leaving him unattended in a city jail cell for hours, denying him medical aid despite his pleas for help.

Laguna Beach Police were exonerated of any wrongdoing by the Orange County district attorney’s office, which investigated the death. The County Coroner ruled the death accidental by means of “acute intoxication of cocaine and ethanol.”

Terry Dunlevy is convinced his son was beaten to death and did not die from cocaine or alcohol poisoning.

“In my opinion they murdered my son and they’re not getting away with it,” Terry Dunlevy said. “If he’d overdosed [on cocaine] it would have happened quickly. He was beaten to death in back of the restaurant and found dead five hours later.”

The complaint states Dunlevy was doing “jumping jacks” in the women’s bathroom and would not leave.

Several officers arrived and removed Matthew from the restaurant, and then used a Taser set in “stun” mode to subdue him, according to an investigator’s report.

This is significant for police, because when a Taser device is employed with darts — small projectiles that are shot from the Taser — a medical professional is required to remove the darts from the person. That is not the case when a Taser is used in stun mode.

According to investigators, Matthew was taken to the city jail and placed in a detoxification cell, but was not booked due to his intoxicated condition.

Checks were conducted every half hour and he was seen exercising in the cell for a time, then was observed to be still.

Matthew was found dead in his cell about 2:50 a.m., about five hours after his arrest.

Police and paramedics attempted to revive him, but could not.

It was the first jail cell death in Laguna Beach in 25 years, according to the complaint.

The Dunlevys’ attorney, Brian Hannemann, accuses the police department of not conducting required half-hour cell checks and of denying medical aid that Matthew requested, causing him “intense physical and emotional pain, discomfort, anguish, distress, depression and anxiety.”

The federal charges stem from Hannemann’s allegation that the police actions violated the U.S. Constitution, as well as the 4th and 14th Amendments prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures.

Hannemann also accuses the police department of failing to investigate the case or to discipline officers involved in the incident, and of employing officers who are “unsuitable [for police work] due to bias, prejudice, a propensity for manifesting excessive violence, cruelty and dishonesty.”

The suit also alleges a coverup by police and city employees, who Hannemann accuses of providing perjured testimony and falsifying reports, and also accuses the police department of fostering “a climate of lawlessness”.

In addition to the City of Laguna Beach, the lawsuit names Police Chief Michael Sellers, Sgt. Guy Miller, Sgt. Jenny Jones and Officer Starl (no first name given) as co-defendants.

City Attorney Philip Kohn said he had not seen the lawsuit and therefore could not comment on the case.