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Klamath County settles jail beating suit Medford man to receive $1.75 million The Associated Press MEDFORD -- A former jail inmate will receive a $1.75 million settlement from Klamath County in a civil suit that claimed he suffered severe brain damage after excessive use of force by deputies. The settlement between Dana Ronald Lecomte, now 37, of Medford, and the county's insurance company was reached Wednesday during the eighth day of the civil trial in U.S. District Court in Medford. The suit, filed in April 1998, originally asked for more than $5 million. "We regard this as neither a good nor a bad settlement given the amount of damages," said Lee Werdel, attorney for Lecomte. "The settlement amount is acceptable. We're not thrilled with it." He said the family wanted closure and even if it won the suit would probably face at least a year of appeals. Lecomte is married and has two children, 9 and 11. Werdel said Lecomte needs 24-hour care and has the intellectual ability of a 2-year-old because jail deputies used large amounts of pepper spray and two choke holds on him Sept. 25, 1997. Sheriff Carl Burkhart claimed jail deputies followed proper procedure to restrain Lecomte, who was out of control and was in danger of causing himself serious harm by repeatedly banging his head and body against the jail wall. Burkhart denied a second choke hold was used and said medical testimony indicated Lecomte was high on methamphetamine during the incident. "We all agree this was a tragic set of circumstances," Burkhart said. "Nobody denies that. What we do deny is that (Lecomte's injuries) were caused by any of our actions." Werdel said that the county was responsible because Lecomte was already restrained with handcuffs and leg irons when a second choke hold was administered and he was strapped into a restraint chair. The suit maintains that the second choke hold caused Lecomte's subsequent coma and brain damage. Deputies began performing CPR and called for emergency assistance when they discovered Lecomte had no pulse and was not breathing. Lecomte was in a coma for more than two months. Lecomte was in the jail on a felony charge of driving while suspended and on a Jackson County warrant charging probation violation. The suit was filed by on behalf of Lecomte by his wife, Georgiann, against Klamath County, the county's sheriff's office, Burkhart and various unnamed corrections officers. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA