SEATTLE — Snohomish County is facing another lawsuit for a death inside the Everett jail.
Bill Williams, a mentally ill man, died of a heart attack in 2012 after being shocked twice with an electric stun gun.
The medical examiner concluded that a struggle with corrections officers led Williams, 59, to suffer from “excited delirium,” a form of mania that follows severe physical agitation. His Sept. 14, 2012, death was ruled a homicide.
His family alleges that the officers created an unnecessary confrontation with Williams and then used excessive force while he was in a medical crisis. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court, accuses jail staff of failing to provide adequate medical care.
Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe declined to file criminal charges against the five corrections officers who struggled to restrain Williams. Roe concluded that the officers didn’t commit a crime.
Williams died 17 minutes after being brought to the jail.
The lawsuit alleges that staff failed to make sure that he was medically fit to be booked.
Williams had been arrested for investigation of shoplifting beer and cigarettes. He first resisted Everett police officers. Williams was cooperative by the time he was transported to the jail. He struggled with jail staff after being led to a room to change out of his street clothes.
A corrections sergeant used a stun gun to subdue Williams. Williams appeared to have trouble breathing and the sergeant called for a nurse, but did not call 911.
Williams seemed to recover before he was evaluated by medical staff, according to a police investigation.
Corrections officers hauled him to his feet but he resisted being put into a cell. The sergeant again shocked him with a Taser. Finally, at least four corrections officers wrestled him into a cell. He was left on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back.
About a minute later, the sergeant reported that Williams wasn’t breathing.
The lawsuit alleges that staff was improperly trained to recognize and respond to medical and mental health emergencies. The lawsuit also accuses the county of failing to train staff about the proper use of force on a person exhibiting signs of mental illness.
Williams was under the care of Compass Health at the time of his death.
He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar and psychotic disorders. A day before he died mental health care workers had issued a crisis alert advising hospital staff that if they came in contact with Williams he was having a “psychiatric episode.”
There’s no protocol to give police the same warning.
In 2013, the federal Department of Justice issued a review of the jail’s operations and suggested reforms following a series of deaths there. Some of the strongest criticism centered on how the jail was failing to address the needs of inmates living with mental illnesses.
Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary has instituted a number of changes at the jail, including restricting how many people are kept there. He hired additional medical staff and implemented more stringent medical screening before an inmate can be booked. Trenary also is part of a community effort to look at alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders.
County Executive John Lovick was sheriff at the time of Williams’ death.
The county earlier this year agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit for $2.4 million in another 2012 death.
A 22-year-old man died of asthma and allergies after eating breakfast a few hours after he was booked. Last year, the county reached a $1.3 million settlement with the family of a woman who died in 2011 from a lung infection while locked up.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
