A brother seeks answers over Alaska deaths in custody

Ever since his brother, 31-year-old James Rider, turned the twelfth individual to die whereas in Alaska Division of Corrections custody, Mike Cox has been attempting to get the division to reply his questions.

“I need to know what their procedures are and the way they intend on fixing them, so this doesn’t maintain taking place,” Cox mentioned.

Alaska State Troopers arrested Rider in Wasilla on Aug. 30 and introduced him to Mat-Su Pretrial, a Division of Corrections facility. Six days later, on Sept. 5, he was present in his cell having tried suicide, in keeping with particulars in an Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Workplace report. The health worker’s workplace determines the reason for in-custody deaths. The report, which Rider’s household requested, mentioned Rider was transported to Mat-Su Regional Medical Heart the place he confirmed “no indicators of restoration” and was pronounced useless on Sept. 9.

Of the 15 individuals to die in Corrections custody to this point this yr, at the least two have died by suicide – 20-year-old Kitty Douglas, as reported by Alaska Public Media, and Rider. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska has recognized via its analysis a 3rd demise by suicide, and suspects extra, in keeping with an ACLU of Alaska spokesperson. Cox needs to know the way Corrections handles people who find themselves suicidal and what’s being performed to forestall these deaths from occurring.

“I don’t need it to occur to anyone else’s brother or father or sister or mom or cousin or anyone else. I need coverage adjustments. I need individuals held accountable for errors being made. These are individuals’s lives. They’re not simply criminals sitting in a warehouse. These are individuals’s members of the family,” Cox mentioned.

In response to questions from the Alaska Beacon, state officers cited privateness legal guidelines in saying they’re restricted in what they will say publicly about people.

When requested how lots of the 15 in-custody deaths this yr had been as a result of obvious suicide or are being investigated as suicides, Corrections didn’t immediately reply the query. As an alternative, Corrections public info officer Betsy Holley mentioned in an e mail, “in accordance with state statute, the State Medical Examiner releases explanation for demise.”

When posed with the identical query, a spokesperson for the Division of Well being – which the State Medical Examiner’s Workplace is a part of – mentioned in an e mail, the workplace “doesn’t launch demise investigation reviews, the id of deceased people, or any mixture of this info to the general public.” This info can solely be launched to household and regulation enforcement, he mentioned.

A brother’s questions

Cox mentioned he has referred to as the Division of Corrections and Mat-Su Pretrial attempting to come up with facility superintendent Sheri Olsen, or anybody else who may be capable to reply his questions.

“We’ve referred to as the varied numbers for anyone within the administrative a part of the DOC who can possibly reply some questions. I’ve left messages with everyone from the administration to the guards, and the one person who retains reaching out and contacting me is the chaplain, who doesn’t have solutions,” Cox mentioned. “I want to discuss to the superintendent and know what she’s doing.”

In accordance with Holley, Corrections can “talk about issues with the private consultant decided by the Courtroom. If Mr. Cox is that particular person, he must share the paperwork with the power.”

Corrections evaluated Rider when he was booked into jail on Aug. 30. He was “positioned on a suicide precaution watch” and “remained below precaution for someday,” in keeping with the State Medical Examiner’s Workplace report. Cox mentioned he already knew this from having talked to Rider a day earlier than he took his life.

The report mentioned Corrections moved Rider to a special cell with two different inmates. Then, on Sept. 5, Corrections transferred Rider to a different cell “the place he was the only real particular person within the cell.” That night, he was present in a fashion that was deemed “an obvious suicide try.” Two suicide notes had been within the cell and “there was no suspicion of foul play.”

“We need to know who signed off on his suicide watch. Who was within the place to place him in there within the first place? Is that an precise physician who’s doing that? After which, who made the decision to maneuver him to a cell by himself inside 5 days of him saying he was suicidal? I believe there was a breakdown in process,” Cox mentioned. “Someone dropped the ball. This could have by no means gotten this far and it ought to have by no means occurred.”

Their final dialog

When Cox talked to his brother on the cellphone a day earlier than he took his personal life, Cox mentioned Rider described how Corrections performed suicide precaution watch. Cox mentioned Rider was “stripped bare,” put in a “turtle coat” – additionally referred to as a suicide smock – to forestall him from hurting himself and thrown in a padded room alone.

“That’s degrading to try this to anyone who already doesn’t need to reside,” Cox mentioned. “Once they inform you that they’re suicidal, that could be a cry for assist; not a cry for torture.”

Because of that have, Rider mentioned he would by no means inform Corrections workers he was suicidal ever once more, Cox mentioned.

Corrections public info officer Holley didn’t reply particular questions on what occurs to an individual in jail once they’re positioned on suicide watch, however pointed to its insurance policies and procedures on suicide prevention and intervention.

In accordance with the procedures, all individuals in custody are screened for potential suicide danger by well being care or safety workers quickly after arrival or reserving.  “When a prisoner is recognized as being in danger for suicide, the prisoner shall be positioned on suicide prevention standing,” the procedures state. “Suicide prevention standing could also be ordered by psychological well being workers, or if psychological well being workers are unavailable, by the Superintendent or designee.”

When somebody is positioned on suicide prevention standing, which means “workers shall not go away the prisoner unattended,” and workers shall “take away any objects which may be used to inflict hurt” and “make sure the prisoner is housed in a suicide prevention cell on the suitable suicide prevention standing.” The procedures state {that a} suicide prevention cell is “as suicide resistant as fairly attainable, freed from apparent protrusions and that gives full visibility.”

Suicide prevention standing “shall be eliminated as quickly because the prisoner not presents prone to self-injury or suicide,” in keeping with the procedures. The order for elimination needs to be documented on a type, which is accomplished by the psychological well being workers. When a psychological well being workers is unavailable, a member of the nursing workers, in session with the psychiatric supplier, can even discontinue suicide prevention standing.

Holley famous, which the Beacon has reported earlier than, “DOC takes each demise severely. DOC remands almost 30,000 people a yr. Sadly inmates are (an) exceptionally ailing and complicated affected person inhabitants. The Division takes a multidisciplinary strategy to make sure the protection of people inside our custody that features safety, medical, remedy and assist workers.”

“It can’t be burdened sufficient that DOC acknowledges that each prisoner is somebody’s mom, father, brother, sister, daughter, son,” Holley added. “Whether or not it’s a medical emergency, a psychological well being disaster or potential demise, workers members know every inmate and reply to every trauma with respect and professionalism.”

A request for preserving proof

Cox and his household are working with the ACLU of Alaska to make sure that all data and different kinds of proof concerning Rider’s demise are preserved. He needs the cellphone name he had together with his brother to be saved.

“I don’t need them destroying any data of what occurred,” Cox mentioned.

That features any movies related to his brother’s demise. “I need to see these movies. I need different individuals to see these movies to know that that is how they deal with individuals. Or don’t deal with them. They neglect them,” Cox mentioned. “They throw them in a cell alone, which is loopy to me.”

In accordance with its demise of prisoner insurance policies and procedures, Corrections does sure issues “following the sudden demise of a prisoner.” This consists of photographing the demise scene “from as many angles and views as attainable” and photographing all property eliminated by the Alaska State Troopers, which investigates each in-custody demise, together with any paperwork equivalent to suicide notes; figuring out and securing documentation of any suicide precautions; guaranteeing that every one workers concerned with the demise or demise scene, together with medical workers, full a particular incident report; and securing all medical data on the establishment and a variety of different institutional logs.

An interim coverage and procedures memo from 2017 clarifies how video proof is handled. It says the superintendent “shall instantly protect all video recordings of the prisoner’s demise scene together with all video proof main as much as the demise.” At a minimal, video of the 24 hours previous the demise till the demise scene is launched by the troopers have to be preserved. It additionally says that any proof or video recognized as related to the demise or investigation “is preserved indefinitely,” or as directed by the troopers.

A proposal to different households

Cox lives with much more than grief for his brother’s demise.

“The extra I discover out, my anger takes over my sorrow and my grief that I’ve for shedding my little brother. I’m mad this occurred. It ought to have by no means come to this,” he mentioned.

Cox’s anger isn’t only for his brother’s demise, however for different in-custody deaths that he believes might have been prevented. Rider was Corrections’ twelfth in-custody demise of the yr via early September. Two extra people died after a short while in Corrections custody later that month. Corrections reported its fifteenth demise on Oct. 3. Of those deaths, a number of people have been of their 20s or 30s and died after solely a short while in state care. Two deaths in August occurred after lower than 24 hours.

“Until it was an precise, like, coronary heart assault or one thing that’s completely unavoidable, then possibly I might perceive. However I believe all these deaths are neglect,” Cox mentioned.

Cox is set to be taught extra about how and why his brother died, however he additionally needs to supply something he’s discovered about this course of to different households going via the identical factor.

“Something that’s going to assist different households or different individuals. James was a giver, like, gave every part. He might not have had a lot however he would have given you the shirt off his again, and I believe we’re going to hold that on in his title.”

In case you or somebody you already know is in emotional misery or contemplating self-harm or suicide, you possibly can name or textual content 988 to entry a educated disaster counselor.

This story initially appeared within the Alaska Beacon and is republished right here with permission.