-Caveat Lector- http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/20jail_a1empirea.html SR police investigating how man in custody died October 20, 2000 By LORI A. CARTER Press Democrat Staff Writer Correctional officers present when an inmate died last month at Sonoma County Jail invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and are refusing to cooperate with detectives investigating the death. Santa Rosa police say their investigation has been hampered by the refusal of about eight officers to explain their actions and what they witnessed during the seven hours Paul Daniel was at the jail. Among other things, investigators are still trying to determine exactly how the 51-year-old man died. "Right now, we have an unexplained death. We have a lot of questions and not a lot of answers right now," Police Cmdr. Scott Swanson said. "We have not been able to speak with the main witnesses." Assistant Sheriff Mike Costa, who oversees the jail, said the correctional officers' tight-lipped stance invites suspicion. "It's not so much that we thought they did something wrong, but it does throw this question: If they didn't do anything wrong, why aren't they saying anything? That would be the common response," he said. Critics of local law enforcement seized on the action as yet another example of police agencies failing to be forthcoming with information about in-custody deaths, medical care for inmates and the use of force. Shaun Du Fosee, president of the correctional officers' union, rejected suggestions that the refusal to provide statements in a criminal investigation implies the officers acted improperly. "I might feel different if I thought someone did something wrong. Nobody did," he said. "It has nothing to do with covering up. We have rights." Correctional officers, like other citizens, have a constitutional right to refuse to speak to investigators, officials said. But because of a provision of their union contract, they must speak with sheriff's detectives who will conduct an internal inquiry after Santa Rosa police complete the criminal investigation. If the gaurds refuse, they could be fired or disciplined. Du Fosee said the officers would speak with Santa Rosa police if ordered to do so, which Costa said was his initial inclination. But he said if their statements are compelled, the information could not be used in any criminal trial that arises from the investigation of Daniel's death. Withholding crucial information the officers could provide -- accounts of Daniel's activities and comments from the moment he became sick to the moment he was carted away by ambulance -- is not an effort to impede the investigation, Du Fosee insisted. "It's a philosophy. I don't think people should give up their constitutional rights freely," he said. "Because we're a labor organization, it is our job to protect the rights of our members." Police critic Mary Moore doubted that explanation. "The issue of the union protecting their members in this case is clearly not in the public interest in terms of truth-gathering," she said. Costa acknowledged the situation puts the Sheriff's Department in a precarious position, given public concern about accountability with the Police and Sheriff's departments. "In light of the history here with jail deaths, I can understand why some people will say, 'What the hell is going on?'" he said. Jail nurses and other Sheriff's Department employees are cooperating in the investigation even though the guards refused. Du Fosee said the 220 correction officers decided last year to exercise their constitutional right against self-incrimination in criminal investigations. This is the first case in which officers have declined to be interviewed. Officers cooperated with investigators earlier this year after a suicide and a death that resulted from pneumonia. Du Fosee said the present case is different because the circumstances of Daniel's death are unclear. "When the heat gets turned up, people can get burned," he said. "There's a lot of public scrutiny in these kind of things." Shortly after Daniel died Sept. 28 at Sutter Medical Center, correctional officers sought legal advice. They were advised not to give statements to Santa Rosa police. Because the death occurred in the jail, which is run by the Sheriff's Department, Santa Rosa police are investigating the case as part of the countywide protocol for in-custody deaths. An autopsy showed Daniel suffered no trauma other than bruising from handcuffs and ankle restraints, but it was unable to pinpoint a cause of death. Toxicology tests are under way, and Daniel's brain has been sent to a forensic specialist in Florida for study. Daniel, a transient, died 25 hours after he was arrested in Petaluma on a warrant for failing to appear to serve time on a drunken driving charge. He was booked into the jail at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 27 and both a nurse and a mental health professional agreed Daniel was fit enough to be housed in the jail's general population. When Daniel failed to report for breakfast the next morning, a guard found him sick in his cell and summoned a nurse. Daniel, who was restrained after failing to follow commands, began vomiting and was taken to Sutter, where he died at 8:40 a.m. You can reach Press Democrat Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 521-5205 or e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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