Parents Of Mentally Ill Man File Wrongful Death Suit Against Redding Police Department
A lawyer for Kathryn and William Robinson of Orland says they don't want their son, Matthew Clayton Robinson, to have died for nothing. “We want the public to be aware of what happened here and to help prevent atrocities like this in the future. We want law enforcement to start paying attention to the fact that not everyone they encounter is a criminal.”
Sacramento Bee:
Lawsuit: Redding Police Beat, Suffocated Mentally Ill Chico Man
Matthew Clayton Robinson was off his medications and in the midst of a breakdown. In the back of a vehicle transporting him from a hospital in Chico to a mental facility in Redding on a July night in 2014, he began shouting that someone was following him. He bounced and flailed inside the van, equipped with a “cage” that separated him from the front seat. He broke an interior light fixture and used shards of plastic to shred the car’s upholstery. By the time the van arrived at Restpadd psychiatric facility, the driver had summoned police for help in removing Robinson. Within minutes, he was beaten and bloodied, pinned to the ground with a fabric “spit hood” pulled over his head. A Sacramento native and graduate of California State University, Chico, Robinson wound up in a coma and died seven days later. (Hubert, 6/5)
In other news from across the state —
Ventura County Star:
Camarillo Health Care District Board Makes Reforms After Billing Dispute
A Camarillo health care agency has tightened financial oversight in the wake of a lawsuit alleging fraud and deceit by its retired administrator. The Camarillo Health Care District sued ex-CEO Jane Rozanski alleging fraud last fall, claiming she collaborated with attorney Ralph Ferguson to inflate his billings and bilk the agency she headed for 22 years. While that matter is yet to be resolved amid strong denials from both of them, district officials have stepped up reporting of spending by the tax-funded district. Board President Rodger Brown said the board learned in the middle of 2014 that Ferguson's fees for the renovation of an adult day center totaled about $40,000 to $60,000. (Wilson, 6/3)
Capital Public Radio:
Small Downward Trend Seen In Number Of Norovirus Cases
Yolo County health officials say they're finally seeing a small downward trend in the number of Norovirus cases, which now total 4,000. The outbreak forced the closure of four schools at the end of last week. Schools shut down because their absence rate reached 30 percent. Kristin Weivoda heads up Emergency Medical Services for the County and explains why schools were so hard hit. (Sandsor, 6/2)
East Bay Times:
Pleasanton Rotary Grant Helps Clothe Sick Homeless Patients
A grant will go a long way to help clothe homeless patients when they leave the emergency department at Stanford’s ValleyCare Center. The $2,000 grant was given to the ValleyCare Charitable Foundation in May by the Rotary Club of Pleasanton. The funds will help jump-start the new program aimed at buying clothes and shoes for adult homeless patients, said Shake Sulikyan, executive director of the foundation...Most of the patients who are living on the streets in the Tri-Valley are exposed to the elements in inadequate clothing, Sulikyan said. This doesn’t help those who are ill, sometimes making them worse. (Ruggiero, 6/4)