Copyright Santa Rosa Press Democrat
San Diego County will pay the family of William Hayden Schuck $16 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over the 22-year-old’s death in the San Diego Central Jail — the largest settlement in county history for an in-custody death. The agreement comes weeks after two significant rulings in the plaintiffs’ favor, and 16 months after the county paid $14 million in the death of Elisa Serna five years earlier — at the time a record payout. The Schuck family’s lawsuit accused jail staff of negligence and deliberate indifference to their son’s medical needs. It also alleged that the Sheriff’s Office failed to preserve crucial evidence that could have shown what happened in the 22-year-old’s final days. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw sanctioned the county for allowing 57 hours of potentially critical surveillance video from a camera above Schuck’s cell to be erased. Had the case gone to trial, the jury would have been allowed to draw what’s known as an “adverse inference” — meaning jurors could assume the missing footage would have hurt the county’s case. Sabraw called the missing footage “critically important” because it could have shown whether deputies or medical staff had checked on Schuck or ignored him altogether. Attorney Tim Scott said facing that jury instruction “did make the county more willing to settle.” In August, Sabraw had denied the county’s motion to dismiss the case, finding there was ample evidence of possible negligence and other lapses to proceed to trial. Schuck’s family first sued in May 2023. On Wednesday, Scott said that like every civil rights case his firm has handled against the county, this one “could have been resolved much earlier, on much better terms for the county.” Schuck was the fifth person to die in a San Diego County jail in 2022, a year when a record 19 people died in county custody. Schuck was arrested on March 10, 2022, after a rollover car crash, on suspicion of driving under the influence and drug possession, court records show. Jail staff initially declined to book him until a doctor evaluated him. Records from UC San Diego Medical Center noted he had an elevated blood pressure and pulse but no injuries. After booking, Schuck was placed in a temporary holding cell located in part of the jail referred to as “the back 40,” one deputy said in a deposition — a slang term originally used by farmers to refer to a remote piece of land. Another deputy said people held there could easily be forgotten during routine safety checks. At his March 15 arraignment, Schuck appeared confused and had difficulty confirming his name and date of birth. The judge ordered that he be returned to jail for an immediate medical evaluation, but records indicate he was sent back to a cell instead. A deputy who transported Schuck from court later testified that he appeared disoriented and incoherent. He said he had to physically guide Schuck to keep him from wandering off and told the receiving deputy at the jail “this man needs to go to medical.” That deputy recalled that Schuck could barely stand and could mutter only the word “thirsty,” but the deputy did not alert medical staff. Michelle Angeles, one of the family’s attorneys, said surveillance video from March 15 showed Schuck “hunched over, appearing to be dry heaving, unable to stand up … sliding down walls, collapsing.” That evening, while being moved to another cell, Schuck collapsed multiple times. Around 3:45 a.m. the next morning, deputies delivered a breakfast tray and left. Nearly six hours later, when they returned to escort him to the jail’s medical clinic, Schuck was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at 10:18 a.m. on March 16, 2022 — less than a week after his arrest. The autopsy described widespread abrasions and sores, dehydration and early pneumonia. A toxicology test detected trace amounts of cocaine metabolite and ecstasy, though at levels too low to suggest recent use. A medical expert retained by the family concluded that severe dehydration was the primary cause of death. In a written statement Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office noted that Schuck died before Sheriff Kelly Martinez took office in January 2023. Since then, the statement said, the department has implemented significant reforms focused on accountability and expanded access to health care. “Much more is needed, which will require significant investment from the County of San Diego,” the statement said, adding that the settlement money will come from the Sheriff’s Office’s budget, though the office “had no participation or input on the recent settlement decision.” The statement also cited improvements over the past year, including a 65% reduction in overdoses, no suicides in 2024 — the first time in more than two decades the department had gone a year without one — and the fewest in-custody deaths in over a decade. “We understand and respect that litigation is an important part of accountability,” the statement said. “At the same time, improvements made since 2022 are improving the operations, expectations, medical processes and technology within our jails. The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to learning from the past while continuing forward progress and ensuring that past deficiencies are not repeated.” At a news conference Wednesday to announce the settlement, Sabrina Schuck spoke openly about her son’s struggle with addiction, but emphasized that it didn’t make his death any less preventable. She said Hayden had begun using drugs in his late teens but his drug use had worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The family had been trying to get him into treatment and had already contacted an intervention team and rehab facility before his arrest. “It was going to be a long haul from there — but that’s the haul I would like to be making instead of this one,” she said. Sabrina Schuck said no one from the Sheriff’s Office had reached out to her or her husband, Tim, until last week. When they did, she said, the phone call they got from Jesse Johns, the sheriff’s commander who oversees medical services, was “very genuine,” and he seemed sincere about addressing systemic change. She said she’s optimistic about the office’s efforts and believes Johns recognizes deputies need more education on substance use and compassion. “I believe that they’re genuinely committed to making the effort,” she said. With the resolution of Schuck’s case, the county is still facing at least 20 wrongful-death lawsuits over people who died in custody. In recent years, it has paid out tens of millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards in such cases. The settlement also comes amid broader efforts to strengthen jail oversight. In September, the Board of Supervisors voted to expand the powers of the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board, granting it authority to investigate deaths and complaints involving jail medical staff.
