Six Jefferson County sheriff’s jail deputies have been issued written reprimands in the wake of the March death of a 37-year-old inmate who died awaiting medical care as a guard scoffed at her.
“People were disciplined because there was violation of our policy on conduct,” Sheriff Jeff Shrader said Tuesday. “We reviewed the conduct of each employee individually to make sure each action or inaction is noted and the discipline is addressed for that behavior.”
The sheriff’s office says it also has instituted policy changes it hopes will prevent such a death from happening again. The reprimands were handed down June 24.
In its autopsy report, the county coroner’s office said Jennifer Lobato, the inmate, suffered cardiac arrest in her cell because of repeated vomiting.
It said the vomiting could have been from a drug withdrawal or an illness.
Morphine was found in Lobato’s blood and opiates in her urine, the report said.
“Repeated requests for medication were made by (Lobato) and cellmate,” the autopsy report says. “The cellmate observed (Lobato) to be ashen, sweating, kicking her legs and still vomiting before being observed to be unresponsive.”
The Post reported in March that a sheriff’s investigation found a deputy who arrived two hours before her death said something to the effect of, “That’s why you shouldn’t do drugs.”
According to the autopsy, Lobato, who was being held at the jail on suspicion of shoplifting $57 of merchandise from a Lakewood Old Navy store, had no known major medical problems before her death.
Lobato first reported feeling ill the morning of March 2 as she was preparing for a court appearance in her case, telling a deputy she felt too unwell to go. She was encouraged by a guard to appear before a judge. And when she returned to the jail, Lobato again said she was sick, telling the staff she was withdrawing from a drug.
Officials have said she was scheduled to be seen for medical care during normal rounds that night, but at about 7:15 p.m. March 2 Lobato’s cellmate noticed she wasn’t moving. The cellmate pushed an emergency button in their cell to notify deputies. Efforts to revive Lobato were fruitless.
Mark Silverstein, legal director for the ACLU’s Colorado branch, said Lobato was “deprived of necessary medical care.”
“Such callous and brazen misconduct merits more than a mild slap on the wrist,” he said in a statement.
Shrader said investigators looked at the “totality of the circumstance” in reviewing Lobato’s death which led to the disciplinary decisions.
The sheriff’s office said policy changes include faster distribution of medication, more diligent record keeping and better medical care response.
“It’s an immediate response, which is new,” Jacki Kelley, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman, said of the changes in protocol. “There was a lack of good communication and a lack of tracking of good communication.”
The sheriff’s office says there are often hundreds of inmates at the jail who are suffering through withdrawl from drugs or alcohol, including 130 on Tuesday alone.
Vicki Trujillo, a longtime friend of Lobato’s, said the discipline still leaves her with lasting questions.
“She would have been alive right now if they had done their job and got her the help she needed,” Trujillo said.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
