A dip in neighbor’s pool leads to nightmare at hands of California police, lawsuit alleges

Last year on Sept. 1, as Butte County was in the midst of 100-plus-degree heat wave, Dana Marie James found herself arrested for trespassing after taking a dip in a Chico homeowner’s pool.

James was arrested by a deputy from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office who “observed that Ms. James was incoherent, had an altered mental status and was possibly under the influence of a controlled substance,” according to a lawsuit against another agency, the Oroville Police Department, filed in federal court Monday.

She was taken to jail in Oroville, with her shoes left behind, booked and then cited and released just before 3 p.m.

“Ms. James displayed obvious signs and symptoms of mental and physical impairment at the time of her release from the jail and this is recorded on jail video,” the suit filed by Rocklin attorney Robert Chalfant says. “Ms. James was not given a bus pass so that she could return to her home in Chico, California, or provided shoes.

“Ms. James was simply thrown out onto the streets of the city of Oroville.”

Then, according to the civil rights lawsuit, the 52-year-old woman’s real troubles began, culminating with her being abandoned in the middle of the night in a remote area where she ended up being struck by a hit-and-run driver. Chalfant says James suffered life-altering injuries from the collision.

Acting Oroville Police Chief Bill LaGrone, reached on his cellphone Monday, declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.

But the suit accuses the police of a “state created danger,” deliberate indifference, negligence and other claims stemming from what James’ lawyer describes as Oroville’s failure to properly train its officers.

Woman wasn’t medically cleared to return to jail

Six hours after James was first released, around 9 p.m., she was arrested again, this time at a Home Depot by Oroville police Officer Robert Sasek, the suit says.

“During her arrest at the Home Depot, Ms. James was incoherent and unable to care for herself,” the suit says. “Ms. James was acting irrationally, had significant mental impairment including illogical and disorganized thoughts, and Officer Sasek believed that she was under the influence of a controlled substance.”

Sasek took her to jail, but the intake nurse there would not allow her to be booked until she received medical clearance, the suit said.

That’s when Sasek drove James to Oroville Hospital, where he had her wait in his patrol car while he went inside, the suit says. He returned and then released her in the parking before leaving. He was called back to the hospital when a hospital security guard called Sasek on his personal cellphone, the suit says.

“The security guard informed Officer Sasek that Ms. James had been walking around the exterior of the hospital trying to open locked doors,” the suit says. “The security guard further informed Officer Sasek that Ms. James was ‘out of control’ and had ‘barricaded’ herself in a hospital bathroom.”

By the time Sasek arrived, the security guard had James back out in the parking lot, and Sasek was joined by Oroville police Sgt. Ali Khan, the suit says. Sasek then drove to a gas station with James, where he met Khan and an unnamed officer, and “the three officers discussed a plan of action,” the suit says.

“All three officers knew and discussed that Ms. James had been rejected by the jail at booking because she had an urgent medical condition requiring evaluation and treatment and needed to be ‘medically cleared’ prior to being accepted into custody at the jail,” the suit says.

‘Abandon’ at the dump, cop sped off

The unnamed officer then suggested they “take her out to a remote area on Neal Road at the Waste Facility and abandon Ms. James at the dump,” according to the suit.

“Sergeant Ali Khan agreed with the plan and did not object or instruct his subordinates to cease their unlawful and improper conduct even though he knew that plaintiff’s rights were being violated and had the opportunity to intervene,” the suit says, adding that Khan “had an affirmative duty to stop the unlawful conduct of his subordinates but failed to do so.”

Sasek then drove 15½ miles north of town to the Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility, the suit says.

“While being transported towards Chico, Ms. James asked, ‘Where are we going?’ and Officer Sasek responded, ‘Don’t worry about it’ and told her to ‘just shut up,’” the suit says.

At midnight, Sasek dropped James off in complete darkness, the suit says, and when she asked where they were he responded, “You will figure it out, it’s not my problem.”

“Ms. James pleaded with Officer Sasek to ‘take me home,’ prior to Officer Sasek getting back into his patrol vehicle and flooring the gas pedal, which threw dirt and gravel directly at Ms. James,” the suit says. “Ms. James was now all alone on Neal Road. It was dark out and there were no streetlights.

“Ms. James had no phone, no water, no shoes, no flashlight and no idea where she was. Officer Sasek just drove away discarding her on Neal Road outside of the dump at approximately midnight.”

The officers “treated Ms. James as though she was garbage,” the suit says. “Their heartless decision to abandon her at the dump would warrant criminal charges if they had abandoned a dog or cat.”

Hospitalized for 35 days after ordeal

After being left, James tried walking along the shoulder of the road back toward Oroville, the suit says, where “she was struck on her right side by a passing vehicle and was sent flying down an embankment into several large boulders where she remained in and out of consciousness and severely injured for approximately 10 hours.”

The vehicle that hit her didn’t stop, the suit says.

“At approximately 9:00 a.m. on September 2 (the next day), Ms. James summoned the strength to crawl up the embankment where she had remained in and out of consciousness all night and was seen by workers employed at the Franklin Construction yard,” the suit says. “They immediately recognized the seriousness of her injuries, provided water and assistance and called 911.”

“Butte County Sheriff’s Department officers arrived and insulted Ms. James by asking if her boyfriend had beaten her up,” the suit says. “The Butte County Sheriff’s Department failed to conduct any inquiry into how Ms. James had arrived at that location or who was responsible for hitting her with their vehicle.”

This time, James was taken to another hospital, Enloe Medical Center in Chico, where she spent seven days in intensive care and 35 total days in the hospital, the suit says.

She endured multiple surgeries, developed sepsis and suffered an infection on her right foot so deep she may lose those toes, the suit says.

“Based on the severe internal injuries that Ms. James sustained, medical providers were forced to remove 30 to 40 percent of her colon, and approximately two feet of her small intestine,” the suit says. “Ms. James has also been informed that due to the internal injuries and removal of a portion of her small intestine and a portion of her colon, she will likely be required to wear a colostomy bag for life.”

The suit also says that after Sasek left James at the dump, he “returned to his office the following day and completed his arrest report for his arrest of Ms. James at the Oroville Home Depot and submitted it to the Butte County District Attorney for prosecution.”