Inmate with mental health issues dies at jail

EVERETT — A 62-year-old Everett woman with a history of mental health problems died Tuesday in the Snohomish County Jail.

The woman is believed to have suffered a medical emergency about 7:30 a.m., sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. The sheriff’s major in charge of the jail had checked on the woman at least twice earlier in the morning, Ireton said. A captain also checked on the woman minutes before she died.

Paramedics were summoned, but the woman could not be revived, Ireton said. The Herald is not naming the woman until her family has been notified of the death.

Since 2010, at least 12 inmates have died at the county jail, where comprehensive reforms have been under way to address overcrowding, medical care and other issues.

The woman who died Tuesday had been living in Compass Health mental health housing in Everett, according to an arrest report. She was booked by Everett police on Sept. 19 for investigation of third-degree assault, a felony, after she allegedly slapped a medical technician at the Compass Health triage center. Third-degree assault cases generally involve attacks, including spitting or throwing objects, on police, firefighters, medical staff and others in custodial roles.

The county’s triage center opened a few years ago to provide an alternative to jail or emergency rooms. The 16-bed center offers stabilization for people experiencing a mental health crisis. It is staffed by mental health professionals and nurses. Some people stay for a few hours, and others might need longer.

“The whole hope for the triage center is that nobody gets assaulted,” said Ken Stark, director of the county’s Human Services department.

At the jail, the woman was being held in an observation unit for those with issues requiring additional supervision, including behavioral and mental health concerns, Ireton said. Inmates in that unit are kept in separate cells equipped with wide windows.

“She was standing at the window five minutes before the call for medical aid was issued,” Ireton said.

In keeping with jail policies, the sheriff’s office plans to conduct a death investigation and a morbidity review. The morbidity review will examine medical care and policies at the jail. The reviews were started after families of inmates who died in the jail filed a series of multimillion-dollar legal claims and lawsuits alleging inadequate care.

Everett police have been called regarding the woman numerous times over the past year, officer Aaron Snell said Tuesday. The majority of those incidents involved medical concerns rather than criminal activity, he said.

Everett officers also had arrested the woman on Aug. 4, public records show. She reportedly had told others she wanted to die and was going to walk into traffic. When officers approached her, she allegedly slapped one of them twice. She was booked for investigation of third-degree assault. She was released under a court order requiring her to meet with a mental health professional, records show. The case was later dismissed.

In February 2013, the woman was contacted by Everett police for abusing the 911 system. That case also was dismissed.

After an inmate dies in the jail, it often takes several months before a medical determination is made as to why and how he or she died. That’s largely because of wait times for forensic test results.

The most recent death at the jail was the suicide of a 19-year-old Sultan man on Sept. 9. Other causes of inmate deaths over the years have included health problems related to drug and alcohol abuse, heart attacks, an allergic reaction and an untreated infection.

The dozen deaths reported at the jail since 2010 do not include people who are rushed from the jail to the hospital and die there. Inmates who have died at the jail have ranged in age from 19 to 65.

As part of the ongoing reforms initiated by Sheriff Ty Trenary the jail has adopted stricter booking policies and declined to accept some inmates with severe medical or mental health problems.

In July of this year, jail staff asked arresting officers to take 29 people to the emergency room for medical attention before they were booked, Ireton said.

Of those, “only 13 were brought back to the jail with full medical clearance to book,” she said.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.