County settles with 'mistreated' inmate


June 12, 2009 · 4:06 PM

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Kitsap County has paid a $4.7 million settlement to a developmentally disabled county resident who claimed that he had been mistreated in the county jail.

The case did not go to trial and the money will be paid by the county’s insurance firm, according to Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Wilson.

The plaintiff, William Edward Trask, was arrested twice in one day in 2006. The complaints against him were filed by his mother, who claimed that he had assaulted her.

Trask was later found to be incompetent and the charges against him were dismissed. However, he continued his case against the county.

Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer called Trask's alleged mistreatment “an aberration” and said that the jail “is an excellent facility with professional staff.”

While refusing to make a specific comment, Boyer said there is an increasing number of jail inmates with special needs. He said the county will continue to make meeting those needs a priority.

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