EVERETT — The mother of a man who died in custody at Snohomish County Jail is suing the county for alleged negligence and civil rights violations.
Sean Hanchett was 32 years old when he died in December 2022 in the jail’s detox facility. His mother, Peggy Hanchett, is the plaintiff in the case, filed Tuesday in King County Superior Court. The case has since moved to U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Peggy Hanchett is also suing the correctional staff allegedly involved in his death, as well as their supervisors. She is seeking an undisclosed amount of monetary damages.
Correctional staff failed to provide adequate medical attention to Sean Hanchett as he was going through opioid use withdrawal, the lawsuit alleged. It further alleged the county’s policies are too vague, and can lead to unconstitutional treatment of inmates.
From September 2023 to July 2024, six people died in custody at Snohomish County Jail. At least 29 people have died since 2005.
“This is not a one-off,” said Ryan Dreveskracht, a Seattle attorney who is representing Peggy Hanchett in the case. “This is not the first time that someone has died from similar circumstances in that facility. It’s happened over and over and over again, and they’ve done absolutely nothing to change their policies to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The lawsuit comes as family members of people who have died in custody are calling for state oversight of local jails. A bill introduced in the state legislature earlier this month would create an oversight board in the governor’s office.
In April 2023, a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office inquiry found no policy violations led to Sean Hanchett’s death. The inquiry was Snohomish County’s first under a state law that requires inquiries into unexpected jail deaths to be performed within 120 days.
“Their policies don’t allow for any violations because there’s so much discretion given to officers and medical providers that nothing, short of deliberately harming inmates, is going to be found to be outside of policy,” Dreveskracht said. “That’s why this keeps happening.”
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment, citing pending litigation, spokesperson Renee Cooper said.
At 12:11 a.m. on Dec. 10, 2022, Sean Hanchett was booked for investigation of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Before his booking, Edmonds police took Sean Hanchett to Swedish Hospital in Edmonds for a screening to assess an open leg wound, the lawsuit said. At the hospital, doctors prescribed him Suboxone, a medication to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms. A urinalysis confirmed he had high amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system.
Sean Hanchett’s opioid use disorder severely impacted his major life activities, the lawsuit said, qualifying it as a disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects people in recovery from opioid use disorder.
The jail placed Sean Hanchett in solitary confinement because he was combative during his booking, which the lawsuit said was a symptom of his disability, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Sean Hanchett had been jailed before. The lawsuit alleges the jail had medical records that showed Sean Hanchett had experienced seizures while going through withdrawal.
The jail allegedly did not give him Suboxone, which could have helped his symptoms.
At 12:45 a.m., he was put on detox watch for “Fentanyl + Benzo” withdrawal, despite not having benzodiazepines in his system, according to the lawsuit.
Until 1:06 a.m. the next day, Sean Hanchett received a medical check every hour from two staff members who allegedly did not have medical training.
The sheriff’s office previously reported there was no fault in the medical response, and inmate welfare checks were “timely and in accordance with policy.”
One officer observed Sean Hanchett vomiting the morning of his death and did not conduct a medical assessment, the suit alleged.
At around 3:45 p.m., jail officers were conducting routine checks with medical staff when they found Sean Hanchett unresponsive in his cell in the jail’s detox housing, the inquiry said. Custody officers and Everett firefighters tried life-saving measures, but were unsuccessful.
Correctional staff said they were “unsure” how long he had been “down” for, the lawsuit said.
Multiple factors point to Sean Hanchett’s death occurring earlier than 3:45 p.m., the lawsuit alleged. Muscle stiffness and vein discoloration had become apparent, which typically happens two to three hours after death. His body was cold to the touch, which takes about 12 hours.
The lawsuit alleged Snohomish County’s policies are out of step with national standards. These standards suggest detoxing inmates should be observed at least every 30 minutes and receive withdrawal assessments. The lawsuit also says the county has not developed medical protocols, leaving withdrawal treatment to the discretion of correctional staff, who do not receive training to help detoxing inmates.
The frequency of the checkups depend on what is prescribed by nurses in accordance with an inmate’s medical or detox condition, sheriff’s spokesperson Courtney O’Keefe said in April 2023. The intervals are “never less frequent” than 30 minutes when confined in a cell, and sometimes a welfare check can occur every 10 to 15 minutes, O’Keefe said at the time.
In 2013, a U.S. Department of Justice consultant conducted an assessment of the jail’s medical practices. It found “significant concern” with overcrowding, understaffing and a “lack of evidence-based health care policy and procedure manual.”
Prior to his death, Sean Hanchett pitched for the Edmonds-Woodway High School baseball team.
“Sean was known for his big heart and love of animals,” the lawsuit said. “Friends and family always described him as lending a helping hand.”
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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