Walter V. Gordon was serving a five-day sentence in the Washington County jail when he died of heart failure at 43. His family sued, saying jailers had violated his civil rights by ignoring pleas for medical help.

A federal jury in Minneapolis this week agreed, awarding the family $530,000 in damages.

The case isn't over just yet; U.S. District Judge David Doty still must enter a judgment in the case. Washington County plans to ask him to set aside the jury's verdict, which includes $300,000 in damages for "deliberate indifference," $200,000 for negligence and $30,000 in punitive damages.

Gordon had health problems, including heart disease and diabetes, when he was sentenced in 2003 to 10 days in jail for driving after his license was canceled. After two days, he complained of heart problems and was taken to the hospital and later released.

He had been hospitalized in the days before his death and returned to the emergency room on Jan. 2, 2004. Frustrated by the long wait, he called police to ask for a ride home. Police checked their records and found Gordon still owed the county five days in jail.

According to her Washington County jail log, officer Lois Arends told Gordon that he'd already been assessed by a nurse when he complained of pain and breathing problems about 11 p.m. the night before he died.

"Due to Gordon's ability to yell and argue, I don't believe he is having any real respiratory distress," the jailer wrote. Gordon died in his cell of heart failure within six hours.

Curt Brown • 651-298-1542 • curt.brown@startribune.com

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