In what would ordinarily appear as a self-inflicted injury, prisoner Tanya Suarez, while under the influence of drugs, blinded herself while in police custody, as the jail deputy watched, and received compensation of $4.35 million in a settlement in her case with San Diego County, her lawyer confirmed.
Suarez sued the San Diego County jail staff, arguing that they didn’t protect her from causing bodily harm to herself after she got arrested in 2019, and was experiencing a meth-induced psychosis.
Suarez was found wandering outside a San Ysidro motel under the influence of meth at the time of her arrest. According to jail records, when she was taken into the Las Colinas women’s jail in Santee, she started acting strangely and was clawing at her eyes. Because of her weird behavior, she was transferred to another cell, where she continued to harm herself as a deputy watched without interfering.
In her lawsuit, Suarez claimed that the deputy was watching as she tried to remove her eyeballs, and to her astonishment, the officer failed to intervene, and she succeeded in her quest. Up to now, it is not yet clear what was the motive behind clawing her eyes and removing her eyeballs, although it has been established that she was in an altered state of mind.
“The money will help me work towards living independently,” Suarez said. Her lawyer, Danielle Pena, said she would like to see more accountability by San Diego County moving forward.
It’s worth noting that San Diego County jail inmate deaths have ranked higher in California for the past 15 years. According to an independent review by the state auditor, officers have failed to address the underlying issues. The county continues to record a high number of deaths because of self-inflicted injuries while detainees are in the jail system.
The report indicates that the San Diego County Sheriff’s department, on numerous occasions, has failed to pay attention to the physical and mental health of incarcerated people. The department has confirmed that they have adopted new measures to address the issues, although the deaths continue to rise.
San Diego Sheriff’s spokesperson said the settlement will not erase Suarez’s pain and agony and extended the department’s deepest sympathy.
