Sheriff hopeful bails out inmate <nbsp/>

The tip came in like so many others, with a distraught family member claiming a relative had been beaten by detention officers in Maricopa County's Fourth Avenue Jail.

That information was enough to persuade John Rowan, a Democratic candidate for sheriff, to bail 18-year-old Kolton Brian Clark out of jail last week.

But the Sheriff's Office denies Clark's claim. And video that captures Clark's entire time in custody raises questions about whether the assault took place. A Phoenix police report shows that the injuries Clark attributes to sheriff's detention officers may have been suffered in the fight that landed him in jail.

The same report indicates that Clark blacked out during his time with police and repeatedly asked officers why he was in jail.

Clark now faces assault and disorderly conduct charges. He has pleaded not guilty, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug.10, according to court records.

For Rowan, a grass-roots candidate with no support from the Democratic Party and scant financial backing, the notion of bailing a Hispanic inmate out of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail after the inmate alleged abuse by detention officers was a narrative that was too good to pass up. Rowan was alerted to the allegations after Clark's father contacted him.

Rowan faces former Phoenix police Sgt. Paul Penzone in the Aug.28 Democratic primary. The winner will go on to face Arpaio and independent Mike Stauffer in the November general election.

The Sheriff's Office denies that any detention officer hit or stomped on Clark, as he alleges, and the County Attorney's Office this week informed the Sheriff's Office that prosecutors would review false reporting charges against Clark if they were submitted.

"We haven't made that decision yet," said Capt. Brian Lee, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. "All the videotape for his whole time in custody was reviewed. They didn't see anything indicating he was assaulted or there was any incident involving our detention officers or another inmate."

Rowan's communications director, Terri Woodmansee, said the decision to bail Clark out of jail was not a political ploy but an act of benevolence. However, Rowan twice related the story in speeches last weekend at a state Democratic Party meeting in Payson.

"We didn't go out to the press with this at all. He did this because a distraught parent contacted him," Woodmansee said. "Given the fact that they're Hispanic, did he make a predisposed decision based on other cases? But again, what side do you err on? It's about the side of taking a human being, given the pattern."

Two sheriff's detention officers pleaded guilty last year to aggravated assault and were sentenced to probation for their roles in a 2010 assault where an inmate was punched, kicked and stepped on. Earlier this year, the family of a Phoenix man filed a $20million notice of claim against Phoenix police and the Sheriff's Office, claiming that excessive force and a series of failures by medical professionals contributed to the death of Ernest "Marty" Atencio after a struggle with police and sheriff's officers.

Audiotapes of Clark's telephone calls out of the jail indicate he and his family were also aware of prior instances of inmate assault and abuse in Maricopa County jails. The Arizona Republic requested audio and video related to the incident last week after a family member contacted the newspaper to disclose what they believed was an assault on Clark inside the jail.

In one audiotape, a woman who identifies herself as Clark's mother tells him of the Rowan campaign's involvement in his case, saying: "They're trying to prove a point. ? You're not the only victim."

Clark ended up in jail after Phoenix police responded twice to an apartment complex in the 2000 block of West Indian School Road. According to police reports, Clark was involved in two fights at the complex. The first fight took place between Clark and a man he had been drinking with, according to police. That fight left Clark badly beaten, but the other man did not want to press charges and police left.

Phoenix firefighters were unable to treat Clark for his injuries because of his aggressive behavior, according to police, and he was taken to another apartment in the complex where he passed out.

A short time later, a friend of Clark's woke him up, prompting another confrontation between Clark, two men and a security guard at the complex. The guard sprayed Clark with mace and police arrested Clark after the other two men requested prosecution and the apartment complex asked that he be cited for disorderly conduct, according to police.

Phoenix police also have no record of any officer using force against Clark. Clark's allegations are squarely against the sheriff's detention officers.

A police report describes injuries on Clark's head when he was taken to jail.

"He remained agitated and the officers attempted to calm him and Kolton was telling them he had no idea what had taken place and was asking the officers to explain why he was in jail," according to the report.

Video from the Sheriff's Office shows Clark initially being put in an isolation cell where a Phoenix officer directs him to a sink so he can wash his eyes. Clark later refuses contact with medical staff and is put into one of the sheriff's rubberized safe cells with a blanket.

Clark's conversations from jail would put the detention officers' assault around that time, but jail video shows no officers making contact with Clark. He remains alone in the safe cell from about 1:15a.m. to about 10:15a.m., when he is let out of the cell and dresses in the sheriff's standard-issue jail attire.

During the phone calls Clark made early in his jail stay, audiotapes show, he indicates that the assailant injured his eye and was wearing rings. He also indicates that sheriff's detention officers sprayed him with mace and shot him with a stun gun. Detention officers are required to fill out a use-of-force report when a stun gun is deployed, and there are no use-of-force reports related to Clark, according to the Sheriff's Office.

But after a woman named Maria visited Clark, the story began to change. The tapes indicate that Maria told Clark's mother that Clark was assaulted by detention officers. Clark's mother then begins instructing him on how to hold his head when he leaves jail to accentuate his injuries.

Clark wonders in the call what Rowan will want in return for securing his release. "He did all this (expletive) for me?" Clark asks. "He must really want to win against Arpaio then."

The phone calls also indicate that Clark and his mother were anticipating a large payout for the alleged assault.

Clark has yet to file a grievance with the Sheriff's Office or a notice of claim against the county.

His stepmother, Kimberly, said Friday that her husband was frustrated when he was trying to find out more information about his son from the Sheriff's Office. Clark did not return several messages left this week about the incident.

Rowan did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

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