Man accused of shooting Phoenix officer claims he is being denied medical care in jail

A man accused of shooting a Phoenix police officer says Maricopa County is denying him medical treatment in jail as an act of retaliation while he awaits trial.

Essa Williams is accused of shooting Tyler Moldovan up to eight times on Dec. 14, 2021, while Moldovan was conducting an investigation. Moldovan was hospitalized and put on life support. He eventually recovered after months of rehabilitation .

Williams has been detained in the Fourth Avenue Jail since December 2021. In a notice of claim sent in April, attorney David Erlichman alleges the county medical provider Correctional Health Services refused to provide treatment for a skin condition that Williams has been suffering from since October 2023.

In the claim, Erlichman states Williams now has an infection that is oozing fluid, giving off a bad odor, and causing "unbearable itching and pain on a daily basis."

The rash has spread to all of Williams' body in what Erlichman called an emergency medical issue that demands care outside of the jail.

Erlichman alleges "that as a matter of an official policy, practice or custom, a decision was made" by former Sheriff Paul Penzone, current Sheriff Russ Skinner, and Correctional Health Services Medical Director David Crutchfield to deny Williams appropriate medical care. Erlichman accuses them of acting with deliberate indifference to inflict severe pain and suffering on Williams.

Erlichman said Williams had been improperly diagnosed and treated. As of April, Williams had been provided with only a tube of ointment that lasted only a day or two, Erlichman wrote.

After receiving the ointment, Erlichman said , jail and health care officials refused Williams' repeated requests to go to a hospital or a dermatologist, instead punishing him by putting him in a restrictive housing unit. The claim also alleges the county has retaliated against Williams for filing grievances and appealing denials of those grievances in an attempt to get proper care.

Erlichman claims the current and former sheriffs, as well as the Correctional Health Services medical director, failed their constitutional duties to provide appropriate care for Williams, making them personally and professionally liable. The county is also named as a defendant in the claim, which seeks compensatory damages.

Erlichman said the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Correctional Health Services have taken actions that damaged Williams' trust in him, which amounts to a violation of Williams' Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel.

Williams is seeking $5,000 for each day he has been denied medical treatment for the skin condition, which had already added up to $855,000 in early April, according to the notice.

Erlichman said the total would continue to rise until a settlement is reached or a judgment is obtained. Williams is also asking for $1 million in punitive damages.

A spokesperson said the county does not comment on potential litigation.

Earlier this month, Erlichman submitted a motion requesting a judge order the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to transport Williams to an emergency room of a nearby hospital because the infection had spread to his lymph nodes and was causing high blood pressure.

The Sheriff's Office and Correctional Health Services responded to that motion, arguing that Williams was given "consistent, adequate medical care" and that an appointment for Williams to meet with a specialist "to treat his alleged condition" was scheduled within 10 days of a May 3 court hearing, according to a court order denying Erlichman's motion.

"He's been suffering in agony," Erlichman said of Williams in an interview on Thursday. "He simply needs to be brought to a doctor."

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man accused of shooting Phoenix officer claims he is being denied medical care in jail