EX-INMATES CLAIM POOR CARE BACA CHALLENGER CALLS FOR PROBE OF ALLEGATIONS.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Three former Los Angeles County jail inmates filed claims Tuesday against the county, alleging brutality and insufficient medical care while behind bars.

Also Tuesday, a candidate challenging Sheriff Lee Baca in the March 5 primary called for Baca to investigate complaints that his prisoners receive inadequate care.

``Why does it consistently come down to a lawsuit against our department before Lee Baca takes action to resolve some of the problems we face,'' said sheriff's Sgt. John Stites, who along with sheriff's Sgt. Patrick Gomez is trying to unseat Baca.

The sheriff's campaign spokesman, Parke Skelton, said no one has done more than Baca to resolve medical problems in the jails.

``We tried to get County/USC Medical Center involved and functioning as an independent provider,'' Skelton said. ``They refused. It's hard to find health care providers who want to take on this challenge. There has been substantial improvement in what was a terrible situation that Baca inherited.''

The claims filed Tuesday include one by Marvin Ceasar, 37, of Los Angeles, who is seeking $5 million. He alleged that on Oct. 15 deputies taunted him, saying he wasn't blind, and kicked him off a bus, causing his prosthetic eye to fall out, according to his attorney, Margaret Wilson.

Jail personnel denied his requests to see a doctor, and he has been denied proper medications, Wilson said.

Such claims against the county often precede a lawsuit.

Wilson also filed a $10 million claim on behalf of Clay Roberts, 55, of Valencia, who alleged that deputies did nothing Dec. 20 when an inmate hit him in the mouth with a book while returning to Men's Central Jail on a bus; and a $3 million claim for William Findsen, 38, of Long Beach, who alleged permanent disfigurement and aggravation of a prior medical condition.

Stites called for Baca to investigate the care of prisoners after hearing two former inmates relate their complaints during a news conference held by Stites.

Quartz Hill resident Marco Cardona, 41, said he filed a $500,000 claim alleging that his cerebral palsy was aggravated after sheriff's personnel denied him medications for three months last year.

The Rev. James Stern, 37, of Westchester said he filed a $50 million claim, alleging he went blind after jailers failed to give him his prescribed glaucoma medications last year.