Orange County will pay $299,000 to settle a lawsuit by a former jail nurse who alleged that a sheriff’s deputy prevented her from treating an inmate and then warned her not to tell anyone.

The Board of Supervisors approved the settlement on Tuesday, Aug. 13, in a closed-door session, said attorney Yani Henriks, who represents licensed vocational nurse Jennifer Westfield. Westfield was hired by the county Health Care Agency in 2011 to work in the central jail. She resigned in August 2016 because she felt unsafe working with the deputy, identified only by his last name in court documents.

Westfield alleged that on Aug. 8, 2016, she was prevented from coming to the aid of a fully clothed inmate who appeared barely conscious in the men’s shower. A deputy insisted the inmate was OK and told Westfield, in a later telephone call, “unless you’re an African Wizard, you can’t tell me that you knew he was in bad shape, and you better not tell anyone he was down in the shower or there will be repercussions.”

Westfield is black.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department, in a prepared statement, responded that the agency is looking into Westfield’s allegations and is working on better responding to the health needs of inmates.

“We take allegations of this nature seriously and will fully investigate,” the statement said. “We value our partnership with the Health Care Agency and have a decades-long tradition of supporting and protecting them as they perform their duties.”

Inmate fully clothed in shower

On that August day, Westfield said she noticed a drenched inmate lying on the shower floor. His face was pale as the water ran down it, she said in the complaint. The nurse said she was told by a deputy to leave the inmate there. The deputy, according to the complaint, then reported that the inmate had refused treatment.

Westfield then ran to find a doctor, but was scolded by registered nurses for not following the chain of command, the complaint said. When Westfield returned to the inmate, he had been placed on his bed, still soaked, and the deputy denied that he had been in the shower. The inmate ultimately was hospitalized.

As Westfield became more concerned for her safety, one health-care supervisor speculated she was suffering from postpartum depression, the complaint said.

The Sheriff’s Department said it initially could not corroborate Westfield’s allegations. However, “late last week we were made aware of additional allegations referenced in this litigation. As a result, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has initiated an administrative investigation into the matter.”

Problems in the jails

Health care and conditions in the Orange County jail traditionally have been controversial. In June, the Orange County grand jury concluded that the Sheriff’s Department could dramatically lower the number of deaths in the jail just by checking the vital signs of inmates as they arrive. Sheriff Don Barnes balked.

The American Civil Liberties Union has long criticized the Sheriff’s Department for its “violent, abusive and unhealthy conditions” at the jails.

And a recent study by the Southern California News Group found the number of deaths in jails tends to fluctuate by year — Orange County has had two to 12 every year since at least 2005, with no clear signs of an upward or downward trend. So far this year, four adults and two fetuses have died.