The Seattle Times reported Abdiwali Musse suffered broken bones in his face, broken teeth and a traumatic head injury when he was attacked early Nov. 1, 2015, by Carl Alan Anderson, a man with mental illness and a criminal history who had been booked for attacking a stranger in downtown Seattle.
Musse had been booked hours earlier, for the first time in his life, for investigation of drunken driving.
According to witness statements, Anderson had been in the 9-south pod of general population at the King County Jail for less than 20 minutes before he attacked Musse.
Musse alleged negligence and argued that the attack “was completely preventable.”
The lawsuit also alleged the jail failed to properly investigate the assault and destroyed video evidence officials knew should have been preserved.
Noah Haglund, a spokesperson for King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, said the failure to retain video evidence of the assault was an “oversight” and pointed out that Anderson was eventually convicted of assault.
He said that the decision to place Anderson in general population “was consistent” with the department’s policies.
