Family awarded millions for dad's fatal overdose in notoriously deadly SoCal jail system
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Set us as preferred Richard Matus Jr.spoke to his 13-year-old daughter over the phone from a Riverside County jail the night before she started eighth grade and promised they’d talk after her first day.
But she never heard his voice again.On Aug.11, 2022, Matus died from a fentanyl overdose in his cell at the Cois M.
Byrd Detention Center where he was awaiting trial.His was one of a record-breaking 19 deaths in the Riverside County jail system that year.
His family alleges that a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy failed to take appropriate action when Matus’ cellmate initially reported the medical emergency.They filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county and the Sheriff’s Department in 2023.On Wednesday, a federal jury found that the county bears partial responsibility for Matus’ death and is responsible for paying his son, daughter and mother around $5.4 million in damages.
The total award to the family was $13.5 million, but they will only receive around 40% of that, because the jury ruled that the county was 40% responsible for Matus’ death and he was 60% responsible.“The trial was hard fought, and the county of Riverside denied any responsibility throughout the entire trial,” the family’s attorney, Christian Contreras, said.
“The case hinged on the testimony of inmate witnesses who testified in shackles and orange jumpsuits.”In 2023, the California Department of Justice launched a civil rights probe into the practices by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department that led to the spike in in-custody deaths.The Sheriff’s Department and county have also faced a flurry of litigation from families whose loved ones died in the jail system, including around 15 cases represented by Contreras’ firm.From February 2023 through April, there were an additional 29 inmate deaths in Riverside County,...