Family Of Man Killed in Maricopa County Jail Offered A Settlement

July 17, 2013

The family of man killed in a Maricopa County jail is being offered a $300,000 settlement. That is far less than the family was asking for. Weitse Ten Boden was a Dutch citizen and permanent resident in the U. S. when he was arrested in 2010. He was placed in a cell with Lamont Rider, a black man, who according to the suit, was mentally unstable and delusional. The suit said Rider told guards he was fearful in his words, “of Aryans,” and did not want to be paired with a white person.

Shortly after being placed in the cell with Rider, Ten Boden was found severely beaten. He died several days later.

The suit alleges guards were aware of Rider’s psychiatric problems but ignored the warnings. The suit said guards tried to delete records of the warnings after the beating.

Ten Boden’s widow filed a claim for $1.4 million against the county claiming Ten Boden's death was the result of gross negligence. The Board of Supervisors approved a settlement offer of $300,000 Wednesday afternoon. An attorney for the Ten Boden family would not say if they would accept the settlement.