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SALT LAKE CITY — Two former inmates faced their old jail commander in federal court Thursday during the final stretch of an almost six-year lawsuit against parties involved in abuses that effectively shut the Daggett County Jail down in 2017.
A $3.2 million settlement offer from the plaintiffs was rejected in favor of sending the case to a jury trial, the lead attorney representing Daggett County, Frank Mylar, told KSL.com.
The Daggett County Jail was shut down after a Utah Department of Corrections investigation uncovered abuse of inmates that dated back years and included officers illegally using their Tasers on inmates and forcing inmates to act as test dummies to train uncertified police dogs. Nearly 30% of Daggett County's revenue — about $1.4 million in 2016, according to Utah's transparency website — came from state payments for jail inmates.
After the jail staff knew it was being investigated, inmates were threatened to keep their mouths shut, according to the corrections report. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes called it "unbelievably inhumane conduct and a reprehensible miscarriage of justice."
The Utah Department of Corrections said "many jail staff members, community members, and inmates previously incarcerated at the jail came forward with additional information that corroborated the allegations of inappropriate and unsafe behavior by county staff."
Former Daggett County Sheriff Jerry Jorgensen, former Daggett County Sheriff's Lt. Benjamin Lail, of Manila, and former sheriff's deputies Joshua Cox, of Manila, Rodrigo Toledo and Logan Walker were all charged and convicted in various plea deals.
In 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah filed a lawsuit against Daggett County and others on behalf of two former inmates who were abused while incarcerated there. Settlements were reached over the years with most of the defendants, leaving Daggett County, Jorgensen and current Daggett County Sheriff Erik Bailey as the lone remaining defendants in the lawsuit.
Testimony
Former inmates Dustin Law Porter and Steven Drollette sat behind the bustling tables of eight ACLU prosecutors, overflowing with computers, cords and papers as Lail, former jail commander, took the stand Thursday.
Lail described him and other guards sleeping on the job, watching TV, playing video games, engaging in "horse play" with each other, and breaking pepper spray pods — most of which was against jail policy. In his deposition, he attributed those actions to being "young and dumb." He said he received disciplinary write-ups for pinching a fellow guard on the inner thigh at the gun range, and threatening an employee with a Taser. Lail pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor, in September 2017 for the Taser incident.
The ACLU's complaint alleges that the abuse suffered by the two was "repeated and systematic," and part of "a larger culture of abuse that had long been fostered at the jail by the county and its officials and employees."
Drollete, a soft-spoken 55-year-old, testified of an incident where he and others on a work crew were forced to be tased as entertainment for guards. As a result, he claims he suffered hearing loss, permanent nerve damage in his eye, and tinnitus. Drollete said a guard commanded his police dog in training to bite him in the leg, and then refused him medical attention for puncture wounds.
He said that same guard once woke him up in the middle of the night by deploying a Taser against his metal bunk, then ordered him to wash his personal vehicle.
The treatment exacerbated already existing PTSD, and has contributed to serious mental health problems requiring medication and treatment, Drollete said.
After being transferred to Box Elder County Jail, Drollete said he wrote two letters reporting the misconduct. One was sent to Jorgensen, the sheriff, and one to a volunteer with whom he grew close during weekly substance abuse workshops. That volunteer worked to inform the Utah Department of Corrections, prompting its investigation.
Jorgensen, a defendant in the current trial, previously pleaded guilty to official misconduct, a class B misdemeanor.
When asked why he brought the case against the county, Drollette said, "I wasn't looking for compensation," but wanted to hold those employees accountable. "I brought this case," he said, "so that no one would have to go through what I had to go through at Daggett County."
The inmates are seeking unspecified compensatory and other damages. The 10-day trial is scheduled to run until April 19.
