This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The family of a man who hung himself in the Beaver County jail has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $25 million in damages.
Troy Daniel Bradshaw committed suicide June 15, 2014 — two days after a Beaver County Sheriff's deputy arrested him, according to the lawsuit his heirs filed Wednesday in federal court in Salt Lake City. They contend the jail was understaffed and Bradshaw did not receive medications and necessary monitoring.
Utah court records show a sheriff's deputy arrested Bradshaw, 37, on suspicion of drunk driving. The lawsuit alleges a deputy took Bradshaw to a hospital before booking him into jail, and hospital staff reported that Bradshaw may be suffering from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety and depression.
The staff also advised deputies that Bradshaw needed to take medications and to find the doctor who prescribed them to him, the complaint says.
A mental health screening conducted as Bradshaw was booked into jail noted he had considered suicide, though he wasn't thinking of it then, and that he was receiving counseling and medication, according to the plaintiff's allegations.
Jail staff found Bradshaw dead during an inmate count. The complaint says video equipment that could have monitored Bradshaw was not functioning that day, nor did staff put Bradshaw on any suicide watch. The plaintiffs contend the jail was understaffed and that policies to prevent Bradshaw's death were either insufficient or not followed.
Beaver County Attorney Von Christiansen on Thursday issued a brief statement.
"Beaver County strives to provide a jail that is safe and secure for its inmates, and disputes the allegations purported in the Complaint," Christiansen wrote.
Lawyers for Bradshaw's family did not return messages seeking comment Thursday.
Bradshaw was the father of three children, according to the complaint. His family is asking for actual damages "in excess of" $15 million and punitive damages "in excess of" $10 million.
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