Court orders Newport Beach to pay inmate

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- An appellate court has ordered the city to pay

$172,867 to a man who was beaten by a fellow arrestee while in police

custody in 1997.

The 4th District Court of Appeals awarded the money to Craig Teter,

60, for a beating that sent him to the hospital with severe injuries to

the face and eyes. Teter spent time in Newport Beach City Jail after

officers arrested him on suspicion of public drunkenness.

The case came to the appellate court after the city appealed a 1998

jury trial that favored Teter.

Teter was arrested about 8 p.m. June 8, 1997, on suspicion of being

intoxicated in public and was put in a cell to sober up, his attorney

Michael Cully said. About 7 a.m. the following morning, another prisoner,

arrested for sleeping on the beach, was placed in the same cell.

The cell had an interior door that could have been locked to separate

the two men, but that door was left open, Cully said. The other man

severely beat Teter, resulting in a broken eye socket and a concussion.

Cully said the injuries Teter suffered left him permanently scarred and

with vision problems.

The city argued on the basis of “governmental immunity,” saying it was

not liable for prisoners who suffer injuries while in custody.

“We’re not disputing the fact that the incident happened,” said

Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman. “The issue here is a legal one.”

Shulman said the city is considering appealing Tuesday’s decision. He

added, however, that the Police Department is now “much more sensitive to

the safety of prisoners.”

In this case, Shulman said, neither prisoner demonstrated violent

tendencies.

Cully said the appellate court made the right decision.

“Mr. Teter was severely beaten,” he said. “Police should have assessed

the situation better before putting that fellow in the cell [with

Teter].” * Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7

deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .