Deputy Allegedly Dumped Bleeding Malibu Artist At Labor Center

MALIBU, CA – A Los Angeles sheriff's deputy dumped a severely beaten and bloodied Malibu artist at a day-labor exchange center instead of calling an ambulance, the man's family alleged this week.

Stafford Taylor, a local artist and carpenter, was reportedly walking home from a July 4th celebration in Malibu when he was assaulted, sustaining "multiple head injuries and extensive brain damage," according to Stafford's Assault Recovery Fund, the GoFundMe established to raise funds.

According to CBS Los Angeles, a security guard saw Taylor half naked on the side of the road, helped him get dressed and called the sheriff's department. However, when the deputy arrived, he put the local artist in a patrol car and dropped him off at a day-labor exchange center – driving away without calling an ambulance.

Almost four months after Stafford Taylor was attacked, his bloodied body found near death, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is facing questions about its handling of the case. Taylor's family is demanding accountability and asking for help.

An undocumented worker told CBS she and two other workers decided to call 911 because Taylor's body was ice-cold and he was shivering, but his head felt feverish.

“It’s clear that the deputy in this case thought that Stafford was homeless and thought it convenient to dump him,” the Taylor family’s attorney, Arnoldo Cassillas, told the news station.

Taylor was found near death next to the Malibu Library, a mere 0.1 mile away from the Labor Exchange Center of Malibu where Taylor's family allege he was dumped, after he was reported missing following a July 4th party.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department released the following statement to CBS "We have been in close contact with the family and care about the well-being of Mr. Taylor. We have followed up with the family at the hospital and offered assistance to them during this challenging time. The investigation into the assault of Mr. Taylor is on-going, and we are looking at everything surrounding this incident. We are also conducting our own review of the incident as it relates to policies and procedures, as we always do."

Taylor was reportedly walking home from a Malibu Independence Day celebration when he was assaulted, sustaining "multiple head injuries and extensive brain damage," according to fundraising effort Stafford's Assault Recovery Fund.

It's now known how Taylor left the Fourth of July party at a Malibu home at approximately 10:30 p.m., as security footage shows him walking westbound in the 26000 block of Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu Times reported. He was reported missing the next day, and friends searching for him found his car parked on Pacific Coast Highway, CBS reported.

"We were unable to locate him for 36 hours," the fundraiser site states. "Stafford was finally found as a John Doe at UCLA Medical Center."

"A beloved member of the Malibu community, a father, grandfather, and husband, Stafford is a beautiful soul who always helps anyone in need," his wife wrote on the GoFundMe page established to assist with expenses. "Now he needs our help to recover from this awful tragedy."

Donations can be made here.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact the Malibu/Lost Hills Station at (818) 878-1808.

City News Service and Patch staffer Susan Schena contributed to this report; GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner; Image courtesy of GoFundMe