Lenny Dykstra, a former MLB player, filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County alleging that he suffered serious injuries after L.A. County sheriff’s officers beat him severely while he was in jail.
In court documents obtained by TMZ, Dykstra said he was kicked and punched until he was “barely breathing” while in jail in April 2012. The suit against the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department also alleges that about six law enforcement officers stopped him from getting medical help for the injuries he received.
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At the time, Dykstra was being held in jail for bankruptcy fraud, a charge for which he was later found guilty.
Since he started playing for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in the mid-'80s and '90s, Dykstra has several run-ins with the law. He has pled guilty to exposing himself to women, grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement,
The Associated Press reported.
The sheriff’s department has not responded to the media requests for a comment on the lawsuit, AP reported. However, a sheriff’s department spokesman, Steve Whitmore, indicated at Dykstra’s sentencing in 2012 that there had been a fight, but Dykstra had been aggressive and had to be restrained, AP reported.
Dykstra’s rise and fall from MLB star to convicted felon was detailed in a book “Nailed!: The Improbable Rise and Spectacular Fall of Lenny Dykstra.”
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has been embroiled in numerous scandals over the years, with indictments of 20 employees. Last week, a sheriff’s deputy filed a lawsuit alleging that a group of rogue deputies within her department tried to coerce her into sexual acts.
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