Family of Man Who Died in Jail Sues Police
VAN NUYS — The family of a man who died in police custody last year has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department, seeking unspecified damages.
Dale Weight, 58, was arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness on Jan. 23, 1999, and taken to Van Nuys Jail, where he was found dead several hours later, said Michael Adelson, an attorney representing Weight’s children.
At the time, police attributed the death to an apparent heart attack. Lt. Tim Moss of the LAPD’s West Valley Division said that Weight had been given a medical screening at the jail that revealed no illness or injury.
“He was 58 years old, alcoholic and extremely overweight,†Moss said on the day of the death.
Adelson said the family has been unable to obtain a police report or other information about the circumstances of Weight’s death.
Adelson said a county coroner’s report ascribed the death to blunt force trauma, but coroner’s officials could not immediately confirm that report Friday.
“It’s our fear that what happened was that, either in conjunction with being arrested or after the arrest, he was struck and as a result of that, he died,†Adelson said.
LAPD spokesman Don Cox declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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