Original Article Family is suing in jail death of diabetic inmate $20 mil claim filed vs. county Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Jul. 6, 2005 12:00 AM The family of a diabetic woman is accusing Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other Maricopa County officials of gross medical negligence in her death, saying they denied her treatment despite knowing her medical condition. The allegations are contained in a $20 million claim filed by Barry Leigh Garman and Jennifer Braillard, surviving father and daughter of Deborah Ann Braillard, 46, who died Jan. 25. Deborah was placed on three years' probation in November 2003 after being convicted of drug and credit-card violations, court records show. Without disclosing the reasons, the claim said she was arrested by Phoenix police and booked in jail Jan. 2. Deborah, known to jailers as a diabetic because of a previous incarceration, was denied insulin for more than two days before "showing obvious signs of physical and mental deterioration," the claim says. On Jan. 5, her pain became so unbearable "that she was groaning loudly" and she was transferred to Maricopa Medical Center, where she died more than two weeks later, according to the claim. The claim, filed Friday with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, is a procedural requirement under Arizona law before a lawsuit can be brought against a government agency or official. Sgt. Travis Anglin, a sheriff's spokesman, said the Sheriff's Office had not seen or reviewed the claim, so he was unable to comment on it. The action is the latest in a series of claims and lawsuits that take Arpaio to task over the operation of the jails. Michael Manning, a high-profile Phoenix attorney who represents Deborah Braillaird's estate, argues in the claim that Arpaio is draining the public coffers. "His (Arpaio's) tactics, his jailers and his jails have now evolved into a deadly, expensive and lawless culture, which burdens our county, endangers the least among us and degrades us all," Manning wrote in the seven-page document. In 1999, the county's insurers agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a wrongful-death suit filed by survivors of Scott Norberg, 35, who accused jailers of excessive force resulting in his death in 1996. Since then, there have been a number of lesser settlements in other actions alleging mistreatment of jail inmates. Reach the reporter at brent.whiting@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6937.