Ishmael Ester‘s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges negligence, civil rights violations and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He names as defendants the county and two deputies. He seeks unspecified compensatory damages against the county and both compensatory and punitive damages against the deputies. An LASD representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Nov. 16.
Ester was arrested on Oct. 7, 2022, and was talking to a deputy six days later when without warning the deputy closed Ester’s door, according to the lawsuit, which further states that Ester’s fingers were caught because he was unable to move away from the door in time.
“In shock and experiencing excruciating pain, (Esther) began to scream for help,” the suit states.
When Ester’s fingers were released from the cell door, his fingers were partially amputated and fell to the floor, the suit states.
“Plaintiff then looked down at his fingers and noticed he was missing at least half of his ring finger and a piece of his pinky finger,” according to the suit, which also stated that Ester saw blood “squirting profoundly from his hands.”
A shocked Ester screamed for medical attention and he wrapped his fingers in his shirt while waiting, but the bleeding continued, the suit states. Another deputy arrived five minutes later and did not immediately open the cell gate, saying she wanted to see his finger first, the suit states.
“After minutes of “continuous begging and pleading for medical attention and for his cell gate to be opened,” the deputy finally did so and a sergeant told the deputies to take Ester to the medical clinic and later to urgent care, the suit states. At the plaintiff’s request, one of the deputies went back to Ester’s cell and recovered part of one of the severed fingers, the suit states.
Each jail module has a loudspeaker system that is supposed to warn inmates when their cell gates are going to be opened and closed, but the speaker on Ester’s row had not worked for months, the suit alleges.
Ester had multiple surgeries on his fingers and also has experienced humiliation, depression, anxiety, mortification, terror and shock, the suit states.
–
Templer says
I wouldn’t laugh if I saw someone’s hand get smashed in a trunk lid, I mean ouch. Or would I not almost laugh if I got my carpool buddies hand in 1995 gm truck powered window. But this one, it makes me laugh.
French Lesson says
Bien sûr que c’est le cas, vous phoque malade
Tim Scott says
LOL…that hate cloud you carry around apparently makes everyone look like me. Be careful if I start showing up in your mirror.
Tim Scott says
LOL…sure man. Keep hating, maybe you’ll stroke out.
Tim Scott says
Thinking that you stroking out would be a benefit isn’t about feelings, it’s more about appreciation of a useful cautionary tale. People with your temperament and thin skin should just steer clear of some things…like the internet.
Tim Scott says
LOL…you sound so sincere you might even believe your “heroic marine sticking up for the innocents” BS. I KNOW you actually believe that stupid ‘begging cup’ nonsense that you spew constantly. It gets absolute gales of laughter when I share it at writers group meetings, by the way, so thanx for that.
Savior Faire, (is evryewhere) says
t’a possédé à nouveau, Templer
Clerical Worker says
This Templer thing is better than the old FeeCee and Soona stuff.,.sooooo easy.
Snarky Paramedic says
Snarky Paramedic says:
The drama created by printing the lawsuit documentation verbatim doesn’t paint the proper picture.
Blood “squirting profoundly from his hands” doesn’t happen when fingers are amputated. The statement is designed to elicit a response from the audience. Why doesn’t blood go spraying everywhere when fingers get chopped off? It’s primarily because the largest vessels in the fingers are roughly the size of a sewing needle. Blood may have been coming out from the wound, but definitely not “squirting profoundly”.
“He wrapped his fingers in his shirt while waiting, but the bleeding continued. Another deputy arrived five minutes later and did not immediately open the cell gate, saying she wanted to see his finger first”. Saying the quiet part out loud, the deputy arrived quickly, saw there was an emergency occurring, saw that the most basic of first aid actions were being taken, and then asked to see the wound to make an assessment – “Do I call an ambulance or send the inmate to the infirmary?” Fair enough.
City New Service reported this with a slant, probably because the LASD doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits. So let’s call it for what it is. This was not some callous cops telling a guy to pick up his amputated fingers and stop bleeding on the jailhouse floor. It was an accident that probably could have been prevented with working loudspeakers on the tier.
Sorry it happened to you, bub. If Snarky Medic sees you on the street, I’ll give you a high 8.5.
Lawyers in Love says
Is this a joke? This is an nonsensical as the lawsuits where Chipotle got sued for using lard in their refried beans, a practice that has been done for hundreds of years, or suing an American Legion Post when a kid got hit by a ball playing a game of pickle. Slip and fall plaintiff attorneys are lower than whale turd, and that lies on the bottom of the ocean.
Fingers says
That lawsuit is worth at least $5m.
Starla says
Good for him, I hope he gets everything he’s asking for..
How would that deputy like it if someone did that to him..