Man Awarded $100,000 in Jail Brutality Case

A federal court jury ruled Thursday that a Riverside beekeeper is entitled to $100,000 in damages from a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy for injuries he suffered in 1983 during a brief incarceration at County Jail.

Carey Shouker, 44, accused Sheriff’s Deputy John Wilson, 37, of brutalizing him as Shouker was being booked at the jail. Shouker spent several days in the jail in September, 1983, before he was transferred to Nevada, where he faced a child-support warrant.

During a one-day trial, Shouker’s attorney, Stephen Yagman, argued that Wilson punched Shouker in the groin, knocking him unconscious, during a search. Afterward, Shouker testified, he was placed in a cell ward with criminals and was beaten by a convict--despite the fact that he had been brought in on a civil warrant. The jury awarded Shouker $35,000 in general damages and $65,000 in punitive damages.