Boot-camp lawsuit seeks
$40M
Teen's parents blame officials for his death
By Daniela Velazquez
and Bill Cotterell
July 13, 2006
 Attorneys
for Martin Lee Anderson's family file a lawsuit
Learn
about a similar lawsuit in Texas
The parents of Martin Lee Anderson
sued the Bay County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Juvenile
Justice on Wednesday, seeking more than $40 million for the death of
the teenager that prompted major legislative reforms this year.
The 52-page complaint filed in Leon
County Circuit Court said the state and county were responsible for
the 14-year-old's injuries - and for depriving him of proper medical
care when he collapsed. The suit also said the state and county
hired, supervised and trained guards at the boot camp and that DJJ
showed "a deliberate indifference" toward the rights of young
offenders.
The Panama City youth died Jan. 6, a day
after boot-camp guards kneed and kicked him and shoved ammonia
tablets up his nose. His mother, Gina Jones, father, Robert
Anderson, and younger sister, Star, attended a news conference at
their attorney's office in Tallahassee to announce the suit.
"It was the custom of the Florida
Department of Juvenile Justice to inadequately and improperly hire,
supervise and train its employees/agents, including the Bay County
Sheriff's Office," attorney Benjamin Crump wrote in the petition.
The suit alleged negligence in the
boy's death and violation of his rights. It said DJJ was responsible
for allowing "a violent, brutal, continuing and unauthorized
physical interaction" that caused his death.
Crump said the family tried to settle
out of court with the Sheriff's Office for its insurance policy of
$3.1 million, which Crump described as "grossly inadequate." By
refusing to settle, he said the county showed "bad faith." A
specific amount for damages was not cited in the lawsuit, which
presented only the plaintiff's side of the case.
Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen
said a settlement was not yet possible.
"It is premature because the
investigation is incomplete and still pending at this time,"
McKeithen said.
The DJJ declined comment on the suit.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with
the family of Martin Lee Anderson," DJJ Secretary Anthony Schembri
said. "While unable to comment on the pending lawsuit, the
department remains committed to the safety of the youth in its
care."
Anderson's family's attorneys cited
the case of an 18-year-old Texan, Bryan Alexander, who died two days
after being hospitalized for pneumonia when he got sick at a boot
camp in January 2001. A jury awarded his family $40.1 million in
2003.
'More than money'
Crump said "it's about so much more
than money," but predicted a Florida jury would return a verdict
similar to Alexander's case. He called Anderson's death "far more
heinous, far more overt and far more worse than Bryan Alexander's."
Anderson's death caused statewide
public outcry. The Martin Lee Anderson Act, rushed through the
Legislature with bipartisan support, requires closing of the
military-style boot camps and authorizes creation of
education-oriented training facilities for juveniles.
Contact
reporter Daniela Velazquez
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