Tag: jail
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Federal judge allows some claims to proceed over denial of cancer meds in El Paso County jail
A federal judge allowed claims to proceed last week against some medical and sheriff’s office employees at the El Paso County jail over their alleged failure to ensure a detainee received his cancer medication during four months of incarceration. Stuart Patrick McLaney was in the county jail between March-July 2023. He has chronic myeloid leukemia,…
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A jail death in Denver raises questions about intake policies — and how a man with a violent history kept getting released early
On June 30, deputies from the Denver Sheriff Department responded to an overnight call for help in the agency’s Downtown Detention Center. They found a man — later identified as 34-year-old Vincent Chacon — unresponsive in his cell, where he was pronounced dead, the police said in a news release. Police investigators later said the…
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Federal judge dismisses claims against Avon police sergeant for jail detainee’s suicide
A federal judge last week dismissed the claims against an Avon police sergeant who transported a suicidal man to the Eagle County jail, as part of a broader lawsuit over the man’s death in custody. The lawsuit, brought by the surviving father of Ian David Lockhart, described multiple occasions in the first months of 2023…
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Federal judge allows lawsuit to proceed against medical staff in Pueblo County jail
A federal judge on Monday dismissed claims that medical staff at the Pueblo County jail were deliberately indifferent to a detainee’s risk of suicide in the days before he died, but allowed other claims relating to the man’s physical pain to proceed. Jay Philip Pritchard entered the jail on Oct. 29, 2021, allegedly alerting multiple…
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Bridges of Colorado: Formerly homeless, jailed vet headed home with new coping skills
Iraq War Army veteran Robert Lantz was headed home to Iowa this spring, after spending five years homeless and in and out of jail in Colorado Springs. He spent his final 14 months in town in the El Paso County jail on low-level charges such as trespassing, and during that time his competency to go…
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Federal judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against El Paso County, jail contractor for deficient care
A federal judge last month rejected an attempt by El Paso County and the former medical provider for its jail to dismiss a lawsuit alleging deliberate indifference to a detainee’s serious medical needs. Alexandro Duran, who is partially paralyzed and uses a wheelchair, entered the county jail in November 2021. While there, staff allegedly refused…
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Federal judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Jeffco jail contractor for detainee’s death
A federal judge earlier this month refused to dismiss a constitutional rights lawsuit filed against the Jefferson County jail’s medical contractor, involving multiple personnel who allegedly failed to provide adequate care to a detainee before she died of an infection. Abby Angelo entered the Jeffco jail on June 19, 2021 following her arrest. Nine days…
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El Paso County votes to settle potential lawsuits over death of Dezaree Archuleta in the jail
The El Paso County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to settle potential lawsuits over an 18-year-old’s death in El Paso County jail for $1 million. The commission approved the settlement on a 4-1 vote with no discussion. Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez voted against the settlement. The settlement resolves all claims stemming from Dezaree Archuleta’s medical and mental…
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VIDEO | Crisis in Colorado: Mental health in Colorado jails
Crisis in Colorado: Mental Health in Colorado Jails (Video by Katie Klann)