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Mistreatment doomed dad, lawyer says Blames Medford man's death on police actions By DANI DODGE Jeffrey Stuart Anderson was a loving father with a penchant for playing the electric bass. The Medford man also had a drinking problem. Five years ago, Anderson, 33, turned himself into the Jackson County Jail on a probation violation. While doing his time, he developed a intracerebral hemorrhage the size of a baseball. He died the next month. Anderson's family is bringing a wrongful death suit against the county, saying the jail personnel used excessive force against Anderson and then failed to get him the proper medical treatment. "He didn't have a chance," said the family's attorney, Foster Glass. Glass said an autopsy concluded Anderson had died of blunt force trauma. The county's attorney, Robert Cowling, however, said "there's definitely two sides of this story." "Mr. Anderson was an individual who had some serious health problems, almost entirely due to his excessive drinking," Cowling said. The family's lawsuit against Jackson County began Monday in Medford's federal court. Judge John P. Cooney is presiding over the trial that is expected to continue through the week. A jury of three men and five women was chosen Monday morning. That afternoon, Anderson's sister, his ex-wife and a jail nurse testified. The family's case will continue through midweek, when the county will begin to put on its defense. Anderson's ex-wife, Carol Anderson, said that she and her ex-husband had been back together about six months when he went into jail. At the time, he was being "Mr. Mom" for their two boys while she worked as a deli manager at Albertson's. "He was a great dad," she said. "He was my best friend and soul mate." Anderson's sister, Sherrie Ardaiz, said Anderson had decided to use the time behind bars to jump start a new life of sobriety. "He said he wanted his life to change," she said. "He wasn't a drunk - he liked to maintain a little bit of a happy feeling." Anderson had violated his probation on a conviction of driving while under the influence of intoxicants by failing to complete the educational component of his sentence. He turned himself in on April 2, 1996. On April 4, jail nurse Tracy Caldwell saw Anderson. "He was shaking and sweating," she said in court. "After I asked Jeff what he thought the problem was, he said he thought he might be having problems coming off alcohol." Caldwell gave him drugs to help him through the alcohol withdrawal, she testified. Then she had two days off. When she returned to work April 7, she saw his condition had deteriorated. He was bruised and dehydrated and urinating on himself. He didn't know where he was. She said he should be taken to the hospital. According to the lawsuit, during those two days, deputies placed Anderson in the jail's restraint chair for more than 10 hours. While he was in the restraint chair, "various amounts of force was used against him by deputies which they claimed was necessary for their own safety and protection. Anderson was bruised, battered and abraded over most of his body, including two marks on each side of the trachea," according to the lawsuit. At RVMC, doctors operated on Anderson's brain. He died after life support was discontinued on May 2, 1996. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.