A federal appeals court Monday affirmed a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit against Davis County and its sheriff, which alleged that county jail staff did not give proper medical care to a man they booked as he was overdosing, who later died.
In its Monday decision, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said attorneys for the 33-year-old man did not prove that jail staff knew he was in danger, and as such, they could not have been “deliberately indifferent” to his risk of substantial harm by keeping him at the jail, as alleged in the lawsuit.
Attorneys for the man who died, Gregory Hayes, did not respond to a request for comment. Davis County Sheriff’s Office officials declined to comment on the ruling Tuesday.
The three-judge panel noted in its decision that “there might be a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the jail had a widespread practice of using staff without health training to conduct intakes.” The U.S. circuit judges however determined Hayes’ attorneys could not prove the claim.
Representatives for Hayes first filed the civil rights lawsuit against Davis County and Sheriff Todd Richardson in July 2018. It was dismissed in U.S. District Court last February. Attorneys for Hayes appealed that decision to the 10th Circuit in March 2021.
Hayes had been in jail for about two months on Dec. 13, 2017, when officials released him around 1:18 p.m. He was given his prescription medication on his way out, including 23 clonazepam pills for anxiety, according to court documents.
Upon release, documents state that Hayes later learned his wife was dating someone else and became distraught. When his brother found him, he was “lethargic and groggy.” Suspecting Hayes, who struggled with substance misuse, was high, the brother called Hayes’ probation officer. The probation officer, John Herndon, suggested that the brother call 911 for medical help.
Police officer Heather Arnell arrived instead, court documents state. While Arnell noted Hayes was “lethargic, groggy, perspiring and had slurred speech” she canceled an ambulance that was on the way because Hayes declined medical treatment.
Hayes told Arnell he had taken three clonazepam pills and two sleeping pills. When another officer searched Hayes, loose sleeping pills fell out of his pocket, court documents state.
Arnell consulted with Hayes’ probation officer and they decided to take Hayes back to jail, suspecting that he was abusing his medications. He arrived at the jail with an empty bottle of clonazepam and a partially empty bottle of Tylenol PM.
At the facility, Herndon noticed that Hayes was “slow at answering,” “sweating” and his speech was a “little bit” slurred. He also noted that Hayes was not aggressive and his complexion appeared normal.
Hayes told the probation officer that he had taken two clonazepam immediately after being released, court documents state.
“Herndon then asked Hayes if he had taken more (pills) later,” documents state, “but jail staff interrupted and took Hayes away before he could answer.”
Hayes later told Sgt. Kelcie Baer that he had taken 16 milligrams of anxiety medication, but said it was his normal dose and did not tell her the type of medicine he took.
Baer testified that he was acting no worse “than any other person that came in [to the jail] under the influence.” Hayes was not placed under formal supervision, but court documents state that jail staff checked on him “periodically.”
Around 12:45 a.m., deputy Megan Reid saw that Hayes appeared “blueish” and was breathing heavily. A nurse checked on and cleared him after his breathing normalized.
Less than two hours later, officer Cheyenne Kelly reported that Hayes again was “blue” and “breathing funny.” The nurse returned to the room and cleared Hayes a second time, after checking his vitals and repositioning him.
Around 5:30 a.m., officer Kenneth Hatfield noticed that Hayes did not seem to be breathing. Staff tried CPR and the same nurse administered naloxone to counteract a possible opioid overdose.
Paramedics took Hayes to the hospital, where he died. A medical examiner determined Hayes died from drug toxicity.
U.S. Circuit Judge Moritz wrote that the district court was correct in concluding that “no reasonable jury could conclude that defendants were deliberately indifferent.”
She said, “Notably, plaintiffs point to no prior similar constitutional violations that would have put defendants on notice that their screening practices were deficient.”