A federal civil rights lawsuit claims an Oxnard man was tortured in a restraining chair at the Ventura County jail.
But the sheriff's department denies the allegations, saying it had no choice but to strap Kurt Von Colln, 38, into the Pro-Straint chair after he was arrested for public drunkenness, allegedly exposed himself to jail employees and fought with deputies.The suit, filed June 16 in U.S. District Court, contends Von Colln suffered a broken ankle when deputies over-tightened leg clamps on the chair following his 1996 arrest and that he was forced to sit naked in the chair for five hours without using the bathroom and eventually urinated and defecated on himself.
No charges were filed against Von Colln and he was released without treatment for his leg, said Samuel Paz, a lawyer for Von Colln.
The sheriff's department denied wrongdoing.
There was "no indication whatsoever" that Von Colln's ankle was broken nor that he used the chair as a bathroom, said Capt. Mark Ball, a sheriff's spokesman.
Von Colln was taken into custody May 28, 1996, after he fell off his bicycle near Oxnard.
Ball said Von Colln was checked by a nurse immediately after being restrained and every 15 minutes after that by jail staff.
The county jail has used the chair for several years, he added.
But the chairs are controversial. An inmate died in March after being strapped into a similar chair in Utah.