Maricopa County to pay $200,000 to settle lawsuit over restraining pregnant inmate

PHOENIX - Maricopa County has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a lawsuit by a former inmate in one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jails who claimed her rights were violated in 2009 when officers restrained her before and after she gave birth to her son at a hospital.

The deal reached Thursday to settle the lawsuit by Miriam Mendiola-Martinez against the sheriff came nearly three weeks before the case was scheduled for a jury trial.

As part of the settlement, Arpaio agreed to prohibit officers from restraining inmates while they’re in labor and for the two weeks after they deliver their children, Joy Bertrand, Mendiola-Martinez’s attorney, said in a statement.

Officers also will undergo training on the dangers of placing pregnant women in restraints.

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A medical expert for Mendiola-Martinez said restraints at any point during pregnancies or during postpartum recovery pose risks of tripping for women and could cause injuries as they move their bodies around to ease the pain of contractions.

Arpaio’s office referred a request for comment to its attorney in the case, Michele Iafrate, who didn’t immediately return messages left Monday.

The case’s resolution came during the final weeks of Arpaio’s 24-year tenure. The sheriff known for jailing inmates in canvass tents and dressing them in pink underwear was defeated two weeks ago by retired Phoenix police Sgt. Paul Penzone.

A day before giving birth, the lawsuit says, Mendiola-Martinez was handcuffed in an ambulance as she was taken to a medical center after she started experiencing contractions.

She returned to jail later that day and was taken to the hospital again the next day. Mendiola-Martinez said she wasn’t restrained on the second trip, but an officer said the inmate was cuffed for part of the ride.

Mendiola-Martinez wasn’t restrained during her C-section. But after giving birth, she was brought to a recovery room and had to wear a leg restraint with a chain attached to it, the lawsuit states.

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She also contends that two days after giving birth, she was bound at her hands and ankles and forced to walk through the hospital where she was chained to other prisoners for transport back to jail.

Her lawsuit was thrown out in January 2014, but a federal appeals court reinstated it two months ago.

The appeals court ruled that a reasonable jury could conclude that Arpaio’s office exposed Mendiola-Martinez to harm by restraining her and that officers were deliberately indifferent to the risk. The appeals court said it was up to a jury to decide whether the risk was justified.

Mendiola-Martinez was arrested in October 2009 on a felony identification-theft charge. She is a citizen of Mexico who wasn’t authorized to be in the United States and was accused of working under another person’s name. Eventually, she pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit forgery, was given credit for 62 days that she had already served in jail and was put on probation.

The Arizona Legislature passed a law in 2012 that says jail officers can’t use restraints on inmates who are in labor or going through postpartum recovery, unless the medical staff requests them or officers determine that the prisoner presents a problem.

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Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jacques-billeaud.