County violated rights, law, ACLU says
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
May. 31, 2007 12:00 AM

A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union
claims that Maricopa County officials have violated the rights of a
quarantined tuberculosis patient for months by treating him as a criminal.

The U.S. District Court complaint on behalf of Robert Daniels alleges that
health officials and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office have violated
numerous constitutional rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The suit asks that Daniels be housed in appropriate accommodations, rather
than the severe and "inhumane" jail conditions. advertisement

"It's good news for me," Daniels said Wednesday evening. "I finally have a
chance to get out of this black hole."

Robert England, the county's tuberculosis control officer, declined to
comment. Other county health officials were not immediately available.

Daniels, 27, has been isolated in a jail ward at Maricopa Medical Center for
10 months under court order, although he was not convicted or charged with
any crime.

Linda Cosme, an attorney for Daniels, said her client has been victimized by
constitutional violations.

"Robert is helpless," she said. "And he's at the mercy of Sheriff Joe
Arpaio. He needs as much support as possible, and the ACLU is supplying that
support."

Arpaio said Daniels must abide by security measures. "I run a safe jail, and
he's going to be treated like anyone else," he said.

Daniels, who holds dual United States and Russian citizenship, moved to
Arizona in January 2006 after contracting extreme multi-drug-resistant (XDR)
TB.

Daniels, who spent his teen years in Scottsdale, said he returned to the
U.S. in search of work and a college education. Months later, he became
severely ill and was placed in a county sanitarium for indigent TB patients.

Dr. Maricela Moffitt, a county physician, has testified that Daniels
willfully failed to take his medications, decreasing the likelihood that
last-chance drugs would cure his deadly disease. Moreover, Moffitt said,
Daniels endangered others by going out in public and entertaining visitors
without wearing a mask.

Arpaio said his office is reviewing possible criminal charges against
Daniels.

Daniels has insisted that he did not understand the contagiousness or
gravity of his condition, in part because TB patients in Russia do not wear
masks. Daniels also has said he missed taking medications a few times
because he overslept, not intentionally.

In August, a Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner ordered Daniels
placed under involuntary quarantine. The jail ward at Maricopa Medical
Center is considered the only Valley facility equipped for such confinement.

According to court records, Daniels has spent much of his time in custody
without a phone, TV, radio, shower or hot water.

Earlier this week, Daniels said he was told that his TB bacteria may be
developing resistance to all antibiotics, and a portion of his lungs might
require surgical removal. He said he was advised to write letters to his
child in Moscow so the boy would have communication before his father's
death.

Cosme described Daniels as extremely depressed and fragile due to isolation
and stress. She said the ACLU will soon file motions seeking an expedited
hearing and an injunction to immediately improve Daniels' treatment.

According to county documents obtained by The Arizona Republic through a
public records request, Daniels' confinement spawned a dispute among medical
workers about the ethics and legality of his quarantine conditions.

In a Dec. 11 e-mail, Inmate Health Services nurse Nancy Turco complained to
Moffitt that the patient "really doesn't need to be in a detention unit
(because) it is not the least restrictive setting appropriate," as required
by state law.

Turco, who eventually quit her job and became an advocate for Daniels,
followed up with a Jan. 3 e-mail complaining about detention officers.

"This patient is not arrested and has nothing to do with MCSO other than
taking up a room in their ward," Turco wrote. "It is clear, Marci, that your
job is to protect the public. However, depriving a person of basic rights is
wrong."

Moffitt answered with a message that said: "The loss of liberty by our
patients is not taken lightly by me. But you must realize that I also need
to defend the citizens of Maricopa County. Unfortunately, this patient has
lied repeatedly to me (and TB staff) and did ... threaten many innocent
persons."

In an ACLU news release, Daniels said, "I'm slowly dying in this room. I
didn't realize how serious this (TB) was, and I regret that, but nothing
justifies the kind of treatment I've received in here. The solitary
confinement starts to mess with your head and it has taken a serious toll on
my body."