CCSO JAIL SUICIDE LEADS TO ANOTHER WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT
3rd REPORTED HANGING IN 5 YEARS
Liability theory: Despite duty to protect, county failed to develop and implement policies, procedures and safeguards to protect disturbed and/or suicidal inmates admitted to Cochise County jail
BISBEE – One year after the death of an inmate at the Cochise County jail, his suicide became the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit recently filed by Ramona Amaya, the inmate’s mother. The complaint alleges gross negligence on the part of the county and the sheriff’s office in the death of Reynaldo Amaya who hanged himself in his jail cell on June 16, 2015.
The civil case, filed June 15 of this year in Cochise County Superior Court, claims that actions and inaction of the county and various unnamed employees were “the direct and proximate cause of Reynaldo Amaya’s injuries and death.”
The lawsuit contends county personnel failed to screen Amaya for mental health issues at intake into the jail, and failed to “follow standard jail suicide procedures” and “breached its duty to provide “reasonable mental health care within a reasonable time.”
At the time of Amaya’s death, the sheriff’s office reported that jail staff found the 32 year old unresponsive in his cell at 4:44pm on Tuesday June 16, 2015. He was transported to Copper Queen Hospital in Bisbee where he was pronounced dead at 5:33pm.
Amaya used a bed sheet as a noose; county records indicate he was the third county inmate to die by hanging in five years.
Accused of violating protection order, Amaya turns himself in
The lawsuit alleges Amaya was not placed under “observation or a suicide watch” despite his behavior while in custody which was allegedly witnessed by various law enforcement and judicial employees.
He had turned himself in to the Douglas Police Dept on Sunday June 14, 2015 after being accused of violating an order for protection taken out by a Douglas woman. At the time, Amaya had only six weeks left on parole. In Jan 2015, he had been released from the Arizona prison system, having served prison terms for aggravated domestic violence and marijuana possession.
Amaya was facing new criminal charges for the harassment, as well as the prospect that the court would return him to prison for violating the terms of his parole.
Erratic behavior noted by police, court and jail staff
According to the lawsuit, Douglas officers noted Amaya was acting erratically and in a “self-injuring” manner when taken into custody and while being transported to the county jail. He also reportedly made suicidal comments during his initial appearance at the Douglas Justice Court.
The lawsuit claims Amaya - who was held in the jail’s special segregation unit because of his criminal history - grew increasingly paranoid that he had been “greenlighted” or marked for an attack in the jail.
Amaya’s mother alleges jail personnel failed to remove items from the cell that “could be used to commit suicide.” The county, according to the complaint, “either chose to not make reasonable inquiry of the circumstance of Amaya’s mental state” or they “chose to ignore such information.”
County did not respond to 2015 settlement offer
At the time of Amaya’s death, CCSO jail policy required personnel to check on inmates every 30 minutes. Cochise County utilized an electronic scanner which made a record of when each cell was visited by an officer.
The lawsuit claims CCSO possesses video that shows detention officers checking on Amaya’s cell although it is unclear if the video shows officers confirming Amaya’s condition inside the cell. According to the filing, employees who were working at the time of the suicide may be added as defendants as the case moves forward.
In Nov 2015, Sierra Vista attorney Perry Hicks delivered a Notice of Claim to the County Board of Supervisors in which Amaya’s mother demanded $1 million to settle the matter without legal action. The county did not respond.
Mrs. Amaya’s civil suit is also being handled by Hicks. Attorney Daryl Audilett is representing Cochise County and its insuror, the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool. The case has been assigned to judge Karl Elledge for a jury trial.
Hicks has successfully represented other plaintiffs with claims against the county, including a wrongful death claim involving Wayne LeFurgey, an inmate who died by suicide in Jan 2013 while housed at the county’s satellite jail in Sierra Vista. That lawsuit was settled for several hundred thousand dollars in immediate and future payments to the widow and children of LeFurgey.
In Aug 2010, inmate Steven Lee Townsend was found hanged in his cell at Cochise County's main jail in Bisbee where the 18 year was awaiting trial for attempted 1st degree murder.
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Contact reporter Terri Jo Neff at 520-508-3660 and cjw_media@yahoo.com
