Posted by imbetnonit on October 1, 2007 at 3:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How healthy is it to hold a grudge this long?

Posted by suejones on October 1, 2007 at 4:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I can't believe this corrections officer suffered that much of emotional distress. You are working with criminals and they are not the nicest people. If you did not want to get spat on then don't work as a corrections officer. I can understand possibly trying to teach a lesson to this girl by suing her but as you see it didn't really work since she couldn't come to the trial because she was locked up.

I worked at the main jail in Ventura and was spat on by a violent criminal. It has been almost 10 years since that incident and I can tell you I have had not emotional distress from it.

Ms. McCollum if you can't handle the job then get out!!

Posted by holdenon_2000 on October 1, 2007 at 4:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You cant sue a police officer if they spit on you, you have to sue the city. So why is it a Police officer can sue the ward? McCollum sounds like a chump, she should lose her job, since she cant deal with the emotional issues associated with performing her job.

I dont condone the spitting, however this stuff happens. Also since the ward was a minor, shouldn't she be sueing the parents?

Next time Im at the zoo and a monkey spits or throws feces, Should I sue the zoo? What a waste of tax payer dollars. We probably will pay more (tax dollars) in court costs than this lawsuit is worth. Thanks McCollum for wasting our tax dollars on your frivolous law suits. Thanks for wasting our tax payer dollars on your salary.

This makes me want to spit on her myself.

Posted by AngryYouth on October 1, 2007 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This is the best thing that can happen in our justice system! The justice system fails to address the conerns of the victim. I know there are going to be people who say "Well the suspect is a victim too." Well boo hoo! Maybe if Hill didn't commit any crime then she wouldn't be in prison. And for you people who think she was mentally ill, think about why she was in prison and not a mental hospital. Obviously her "mental illness" wasn't that severe. Too many times officers are victims of crimes and people say that's part of the job. I hope every officer who has been spit on, hit, kicked, or even worse reads this and sues the criminals !This just takes it back to the criminals letting them know this type of behavior will not be tolerated !!!!!

Oh and by the way holdenon 2000. It was a small claims court action filed by the officer against Hill. No tax dollars were spent so get your facts straight.

Posted by danieliii on October 1, 2007 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I worked in state prisons for 27 years (now retired) and am amazed at the disjointed logic and misapplication of the law by some of those venting their spleen against Plaintiff McCullum.

I was in court for the hearing today and have studied this case. The actions of Defendant Hills were sudden, unexpected and without warning. Custodial staff were present and acting in Defendant Hills' best interest for her safety. They were following procedure. Defendant Hills attacked Plaintiff McCullum in a very personal way by spitting in her face. It happened suddenly and up close.

Deborah McCollum merely exercised her legal right under the law to sue Defendant Hills. Who among you would deny her this right? Don't like the law? Then change the law. Defense Counsel Dunn's motion to dismiss, based upon assumption of the risk and the Firefighter's Rule, was denied by Judge Bysshe, who held that the "acts by Defendant Hills exceeded the assumption of risk a custodial officer should assume."

Reciting 1994 statistics, the Centerforce News & Reports states that, "among female inmates entering the California correctional system in 1994, 63.5% were anti-HCV(hepatitis C virus)positive compared with 39.4% of male inmates."
http://www.centerforce.org/news/factD...

I am sure the 63.5% has risen since 1994. That gives Plaintiff McCullum nearly a 2/3 chance she will someday contract Hepatitis C.

Plaintiff McCullum must live with the uncertainty of acquiring Hepatitis C from Defendant Hills for several more years, and be subjected to annual testing. Until then, she will be wondering...

suejones--Hep. C can remain dormant in the body for more than 10 years; have you been tested for Hep. C since being spit upon?

holdenon_2000 says, "next time Im at the zoo and a monkey spits or throws feces, Should I sue the zoo?... this makes me want to spit on her myself."

Deborah McCollum works with human beings, not monkeys. holdenon_2000, if you are ever incarcerated, why don't you petition the court to house you with the monkeys in the zoo? It seems you are eager to imitate them. However, I presume you are a higher life form and are aware your actions are against the law. Right?

We live in interesting times, where evil is viewed as good, and good as evil. The liberals are so quick to excuse reprehensible behavior such as that exhibited by Defendant Hills, that many in our society would punish the law abiders and reward the criminals.

Let's show some decency and respect for those who wear a badge and protect society and perform a tough and thankless job every day.

Michael Yarborough

Posted by smithjc on October 1, 2007 at 8:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

danieliii: great post. you pretty much covered it all. the only addition would probably be to describe "gassing" and why the legislature made it a crime.

it is NOT part of the job to be assaulted by inmates and their bodily secretions. THEY have an obligation to act in an orderly fashion. it is NOT the job of a corrections officer to be unnecessarily exposed to communicable diseases.

Posted by wdwinder1 on October 1, 2007 at 10:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

what a waste of the court system. Next we'll have firemen sueing homeowners because their house was hot inside. no offense to FD, just trying to make a point.