At a Florida jail, a man’s pleas for medical attention were ignored by deputies accused of occasionally offering him ibuprofen for a bullet embedded in his knee, a federal lawsuit says.

Jason L. Pickles gunshot wound went untreated for weeks until he was on “the brink of death” at the Polk County Jail in late 2022, according to the lawsuit.

During those weeks, his wound became infected and his condition worsened, with the infection eventually spreading to his bloodstream, and he required two “lengthy” surgeries at a hospital, an amended complaint filed in January says.

When he returned to jail, Pickles was stripped naked and restrained to a bed for four days, according to the complaint, which says he was denied follow-up medical care after his surgeries.

“The pain of being pinned to the bed for days on end in an unnatural position and after two major surgeries was excruciating,” the complaint says.

Pickles had been detained in jail after officers tried to apprehend him on a domestic battery charge in November 2022, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which first reported on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says Pickles was driving in an apartment complex one morning when officers in an unmarked car tried to pull him over. As he tried to leave the parking lot, a detective fired at him six times, according to the complaint.

The officer shot at Pickles out of fear, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which cited court records, because Pickles was driving in the officer’s direction.

One of the “bullets struck Mr. Pickles’ left buttock, tore through his thigh, and lodged in his left knee,” the lawsuit says. “The bullet never discharged from Mr. Pickles’ body.”

Pickles is suing Polk County sheriff’s deputies, YesCare, the jail’s medical provider, and a YesCare nurse, saying his constitutional rights were violated.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Scott Wilder said in a statement to McClatchy News on Feb. 17 that Pickles has a violent criminal history and that his lawsuit is “without merit.”

The spokesman said Pickles has been arrested 16 times in Polk County, incarcerated in Florida state prisons eight times and is serving a five year prison sentence.

“Because of his violent behavior, he was shot by law enforcement officers and he has subsequently received free medical care at taxpayers’ expense,” Wilder said. “And now he has filed a frivolous lawsuit complaining about all the medical care he has received.”

YesCare didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Feb. 17.

Pickles first filed the lawsuit on his own behalf in May 2024 and was later appointed legal counsel by the court, records show. In January, he filed his latest amended complaint.

In a statement to McClatchy News on Feb. 17, his attorneys Jason Paul Mehta and Heather Anne Lee said: “While incarcerated at the Polk County Jail, Mr. Pickles developed a life-threatening infection that was ignored for weeks.”

“When individuals are incarcerated, we as a society expect prison custodians will provide adequate medical needs,” Mehta and Lee added. “That did not occur here.”

After Pickles was shot on Nov. 10, 2022, he was arrested and taken to a medical center before he was discharged hours later and taken into custody, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint says detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office then interrogated Pickles with “the bullet still in his knee”

Though it was clear Pickles needed medical care, they took him to jail, where he was placed in a medical dorm and his complaints of pain were ignored by deputies, according to the complaint.

During his initial court appearance, when Pickles begged for medical attention, a judge promised he’d get medical care in jail, according to the complaint.

However, the complaint says jail staff continued denying him that care, despite his repeated requests for help.

Pickles wasn’t given antibiotics or wound care and never had an X-ray to examine the bullet lodged in his knee, according to the complaint.

“The only relief he occasionally was offered was ibuprofen,” the complaint says.

Lawsuit seeks accountability, attorneys say

The jail’s staff is accused of retaliating against Pickles in response to his persistent complaints of pain and pleas for help.

“The jail placed Mr. Pickles in a self-harm observation status, meaning he was isolated in a cell with nothing but a smock, blanket, and cot,” the complaint says.

Pickles began feeling “extremely ill” as “browntinted, bloody puss continuously dripped from his gunshot wound, leaving puddles on the floor of his cell and soaking his smock,” the complaint continues.

His infected wound caused both of his legs and hand to swell, according to the complaint, which says he became mostly immobilized by this.

For the next few weeks, one deputy visited him daily to spray an “unidentified ‘disinfectant’” on his wound and offered “no other relief,” the complaint says.

He was ultimately taken to a hospital when he was on the verge of dying from the severe infection in December 2022 , according to the complaint.

“We look forward to vindicating Mr. Pickles’ constitutional rights and holding prison custodians accountable,” Mehta and Lee said.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages for Pickles’ physical pain and suffering. He’s demanding a jury trial.

-----------

©2025 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.