$150,000 SETTLEMENT LIKELY FOR MAN DENIED MEDICATION

A terminally ill man who claimed to have been treated "like an
animal" after he was booked into the Denver jail is poised to get a
$150,000 settlement from the city.

Timothy Thomason, who has non-Hodgkins lymphoma, filed a lawsuit
against the city and sheriff's Deputy Joseph Cleveland, alleging he
was deprived of his constitutional rights when he was denied medical
treatment and access to his medications while he was in the city's custody.

"I've experienced excruciating pain in my life with my cancer. But
this was one of the most painful and scary experiences I've ever
had," Thomason said in a 2006 interview with the Rocky Mountain News.

The 34-year-old Denver man was arrested at his home Aug. 25, 2006, on
suspicion of cultivating marijuana.

Thomason, who is licensed to have and grow marijuana for medical
purposes, relies on a regimen of powerful painkillers, including
OxyContin and Xanax, to control his severe pain and anxiety.

After he was arrested, officers retrieved his medications and took
them to the city jail.

One of the arresting officers told jailers that Thomason was sick
"and to treat him nicely," according to court documents.

Thomason alleged the exact opposite happened.

At the jail, when Thomason told a nurse employed by Denver Health
that he could die if he suddenly stopped taking his medications, the
nurse told him that he could only have Ibuprofen while in jail, he said.

Thomason began to suffer "extraordinary amounts of pain and anxiety,"
court documents state.

When Thomason begged for his medications, "the nurse callously told
him" to figure out a way to bond out or get transferred to the
infirmary, documents state.

Thomason claimed that his repeated pleas to the other nurses and
deputies, who work in the jail as guards, fell on deaf ears.

John Holland, Thomason's attorney, said that "Denver has accepted
responsibility for this very serious matter and shown genuine concern
for what happened."

Holland said the $150,000 settlement, which goes before the City
Council for approval Monday, is only a partial settlement.

"A monetary settlement with Denver Health is in the process of being
finalized, which is also expected to have as a component changes to
the current narcotic pain medication policy that was challenged by
Mr. Thomason in the lawsuit," Holland said Friday.

Officials with Denver Health could not be reached for comment Friday evening.