Erie County, deputies ordered to pay over $5M in attorney fees

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Erie County and five county Holding Center deputies have been ordered to pay a total of $5.4 million in attorney fees in the case of the beating death of an inmate at the Holding Center in 2012, a state Supreme Court judge ruled.

This $5.4 million is on top of the $20 million that was awarded to the estate of Richard Metcalf, who died in custody. That $20 million was the lowered amount of what was initially a $100 million judgement. It was lowered by Judge Mark Grisanti after the original amount was found to be "excessive."

The $5.4 million is towards fees and expenses from Brown Chiari, a Cheektowaga-based personal injury attorney. Part of the reason for the ruling is because the prevailing party in civil rights cases is entitled to fees and expenses.

Metcalf was strangled and severely beaten by officers while being held at the Erie County Holding Center after he was arrested for allegedly breaking into a catering business in Depew that he worked at.

Following his arraignment, a state report in 2016 indicated that officers placed a “spit mask” on him and after he chewed through it, a pillowcase was tied loosely over his head. The report states that the mask was so tight that it required scissors to remove but by the time it was cut off, he had stopped breathing and his heart had stopped. He died two days later. According to the report, he was also beaten by deputies while in custody.

The county medical examiner ruled Metcalf’s death a homicide as a result of acute and subacute myocardial infarction, meaning he died of a heart attack caused by an outside force.