County Counsel (Jonathan Tolliver/Neon Tommy)

Estabrook presented to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday about litigation expenses. He said that payouts stemming from lawsuits against the Sheriff’s Dept. were 80 percent of total litigation costs. Money paid to excessive force complainants increased for the third straight year, Estabrook said. 

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, 3rd District, questioned why the county was being sued for the same type of incident multiple times. She said the County needs to be more proactive in tracking and stemming rising excessive force complaints.

“It seems mostly like we wait until we’re sued,” she said.

Money paid in suits against the County Dept. of Public Health totaled a little over $2 million, more than double that of the previous year. Estabrook said the spike is an aberration. He said a lawsuit filed by Aids Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein was largely responsible for the jump.

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