The widow of a man who died in Salt Lake County custody in 2022 alleges jail officials failed to recognize signs of her husband’s declining health, leading to his death while in their care.
Amy Baker, whose late husband, Leland Cropper, died on March 8, 2022, filed a lawsuit in Salt Lake County’s 3rd District Court on Aug. 1, alleging that the actions of Salt Lake County jail staff and Wellcon, a company that contracts with the county for medical services, represent a “pattern” of failure that has led to an abnormally high number of preventable in-custody deaths.
“We are furious. We are heartbroken. And we refuse to be silent,” Cropper’s family said in a statement. “We speak for Leland and for every family shattered by the same cruelty and indifference. His life mattered. His love mattered. We will not stop until those responsible are held fully accountable — not just for Leland’s sake, but for every family who has endured the unthinkable under a system that too often turns a blind eye to human suffering.”
Salt Lake County deferred comment on the filing to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the jail. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Dr. Todd Wilcox, the medical director of the Salt Lake County jail system and the president of Wellcon, was also named as a defendant in the filing but did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Repeated attempts to reach Wellcon for comment were unsuccessful.
Cropper’s days in jail
Cropper was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on suspicion of driving on a suspended license and possession of drug paraphernalia in American Fork on March 3, 2022. He had an active warrant for his arrest in Salt Lake County on similar charges, which is why he was jailed there, Baker’s attorney, Corey Riley, said.
Cropper was experiencing pain, nausea and dehydration when he arrived at the jail, but nurses did not record these conditions during his intake exam, the lawsuit states.
Over the next four days, the lawsuit states, Cropper exhibited symptoms that included high blood sugar, a “medically alarming heart rate,” low blood pressure and low blood oxygen. He also told all medical staff and jail staff who saw him that he was vomiting blood and experiencing severe abdominal pain, the suit alleges.
By the morning of March 7, the filing states, a jail nurse recorded that Cropper had lost nearly 16 pounds since his intake on March 3. A nurse checked on Cropper for the final time later that afternoon and took his blood pressure, which was elevated but within the normal range, according to the filing.
“At this point, Mr. Cropper’s condition was close to the worst it had been throughout his incarceration at the jail,” the suit states. “He was hours away from death.”
Nearly 12 hours later, at 2 a.m. on March 8, a jail deputy saw Cropper lying on the ground, the filing states. According to the lawsuit, Cropper told the deputy he had been “vomiting blood in the toilet and then had collapsed to the cell floor,” but the deputy did not request medical assistance for Cropper.
By 5 a.m., the deputy again saw Cropper lying down in a pool of bloody vomit, according to the suit. By this point, the filing states, Cropper was non-responsive.
About 25 minutes later, Cropper was pronounced dead by emergency services personnel despite life-saving efforts, according to the suit.
“Mr. Cropper’s death would have been prevented if Defendants had called for qualified medical assistance or if the [jail] medical staff had even provided basic diagnostic evaluation procedures,” the suit alleges. “... Mr. Cropper would still be alive if [the Salt Lake County Metro jail] had responded more quickly and transferred him to the hospital earlier on the morning he ultimately died.”
Suit alleges pattern of ‘preventable deaths'
The lawsuit alleges a violation of the 14th Amendment, negligence and wrongful death.
It lists 12 defendants, including Salt Lake County, Wellcon, Wilcox and several jail nurses and county employees.
Between 2018 and 2022, at least 27 inmates died while in custody of the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, the complaint alleges. Settlements from Salt Lake County and Wellcon in inmate death cases dating back to 2013 total at least $4.45 million.
The lawsuit over Cropper’s death points to these cases as evidence of the “alarming deficiencies in staffing, screening, monitoring, and the adequate delivery of medical care” that the complaint argues Wellcon knew about before Cropper died.
Baker initially filed the lawsuit in March 2024, but it was dismissed on June 1 last year due to a failure to serve defendants within 120 days of the initial filing date. Riley, Baker’s attorney, said he had to go through a number of “cumbersome pre-filing legal hurdles” with the state Division of Professional Licensing.
The lawsuit does seek monetary damages, but the amount will be determined at trial, according to the filing.
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