The Region - News from Dec. 21, 1986

A youth whose spleen had to be removed after sheriff’s deputies hit him in the stomach with a baton during an arrest was awarded a $35,000 settlement from the Los Angeles County Claims Board. In the June 3, 1981, incident, Industry station deputies ordered Jaime Silva and two other youths out of a house under construction after the two officers saw a flickering light inside and noticed a small amount of debris burning. One of the youths fled and the deputies tried to restrain the other two. Silva was struck in the left side with a baton when he tried to get away from deputies, according to board documents. Silva alleged assault and battery and false imprisonment. Assistant county counsel S. Robert Ambrose, noting the “sparse justification” for such a forceful blow to the abdomen, recommended settling the case.