Sacramento County quietly approved roughly $2.45 million in settlements last year for the families of four men who died in county custody, with payments coming directly from county funds rather than insurance, meaning taxpayers are largely footing the bill. The settlements include $1.35 million for Norman Fisher’s family, $650,000 for Michael John Prince’s family, $400,000 for Delion Johnson’s family, and $50,000 for Cody Catanzarite’s family.
The deaths occurred at the Sacramento County Main Jail or during subsequent hospital transfers in 2023, with some linked to fentanyl exposure or medical decline while in custody. These figures and details were reported by The Sacramento Bee based on public records obtained through formal requests.
Federal Court Signed Off On Child’s Settlement
The federal court approved a minor’s compromise tied to the Fisher case, according to Justia, which details the payment amounts and a structured annuity for the child. The order notes the settlement was reached after mediation and required judicial approval because one plaintiff is a minor. The filing also describes a lengthy decline in Fisher’s health while he was held at the Main Jail before he was transferred to a hospital.
Taxpayer Tab And County Insurance Setup
According to Sacramento County’s risk-management pages, the county operates as a self-insured public entity, so settlements are paid from county budgets instead of a commercial policy. The pages explain that liability claims are handled by a third-party administrator, George Hills Co., which investigates and processes payouts for the Board of Supervisors. That arrangement helps explain why The Bee found the money coming out of county accounts rather than an outside insurer.
Jail Overhaul, Drug Contraband Probe And Quiet Death
County officials told The Sacramento Bee they rolled out a series of operational changes after the deaths, including stepped-up withdrawal monitoring, hiring a new county medical director, Dr. Thomas Bzoskie, reorganizing nursing leadership and adding naloxone to the standard pill-call. The Bee’s review of county reports also shows fentanyl testing was not available at the time of one detainee’s death and was later added at the jail.
Investigations into contraband in fall 2023 led to arrests and guilty pleas by several jail workers, and an independent medical review tied to court oversight found staff should have transferred at least one detainee to the hospital sooner. The sheriff’s office did not issue a public release about one of the deaths, The Bee reported, a move advocates say weakened transparency for families…