SAN DIEGO — The family of a 34-year-old man who died after falling from the top bunk at San Diego’s Central Jail while in the grips of withdrawing from alcohol and depressants is suing the San Diego Sheriff’s Office for violating his civil rights and keeping him safe while in custody.
South Bay resident Ben Cunningham was arrested in January 2024 on a charge of willful cruelty to a child. Cunningham was taken into custody shortly after leaving a local hospital against a doctor’s wishes while being treated for liver and kidney disease related to alcoholism.
Following his arrest, according to the family’s federal civil rights lawsuit, Sheriff’s Deputies and intake nurses at the San Diego County Central Jail in Downtown, failed to acknowledge Mr. Cunningham’s medical issues and placed him into a three-person cell, giving him the top bunk inside…