Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310100862 - San Francisco Sheriff'S Department, County Jail #5

Inspection Information - Office: Foster City District Office

Investigation Summary

Toward the end of September 2011, Employee #1 was working as a deputy for the San Francisco, California, Sheriff's Department at County Jail Number 5. When he saw two inmates brawling in the hallway, he immediately ran, without hesitation, to the dominant inmate, grabbed him, and tackled him to the floor. They scuffled, but the deputy managed to pin the inmate to the floor. Other deputies at the jail soaked this inmate with pepper spray. During the activity, Employee #1 sustained a bruise to his lower right shin. After this incident, he walked out of the jail, and he might have subsequently scratched the bruise. He forgot about the fracas that had just occurred. He did not wear any latex gloves during the incident, and he did not wash his hands after the incident. A few days later, he developed a rash on his shin the size of a fifty cent piece (1.2 inches or 31 millimeters in diameter). It got inflamed and grew to the size of 12 inch by 19 inch (30.5 centimeter by 48.3 centimeter) inflammation. Three weeks after he was injured, on October 15, 2011, the deputy was admitted to the San Ramon Regional Medical Center and treated for a skin disease on the front of his lower right shin. Employee #1 was released from this hospital on October 21, 2011. It was confirmed that he did not have a Staphylococcus infection. The deputy stated that, according to a medical examination, he had a skin infection that developed from the bruised shin. He went back to work on Wednesday, October 26, 2011.

Keywords: INFECTION, WORKPLACE VIOLENCE, CONTUSION, LEG