Bell v. Williams

BACKGROUND

15 In February 2018, Bell filed this civil rights lawsuit asserting claims arising from a forcible 16 cell extraction and placement in a safety cell while detained at San Francisco County Jail. Bell’s 17 right leg is amputated above the knee. Under Sergeant Yvette Williams’ direction, deputies in a 18 “S.O.R.T.” team forcibly removed Bell from his cell without the use of his wheelchair or 19 prosthetic device, and Bell was forced to hop on his left leg until he collapsed, at which point 20 deputies carried him by his arms and legs to the safety cell. Bell claimed that the manner in which 21 he was extracted from his cell constituted excessive force and disability discrimination, that the 22 extraction and safety cell placements were punitive and done in retaliation for filing grievances, 23 that the City had a pattern of misusing safety cells for punishment, and that the City failed to train 24 deputies on how to accommodate disabled inmates when performing cell extractions and 25 transporting inmates to safety cells.

27 1 Bell originally represented himself. In January 2020, attorney Andrew Chan Kim entered The fifth amended…