Pubdate: Sat, 28 May 2016 Source: Des Moines Register (IA) Copyright: 2016 The Des Moines Register Contact: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/99999999/HELP/40507010 Website: http://desmoinesregister.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123 Author: Jason Clayworth Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise public figures or officials. 3 DIE OF DRUG OVERDOSES WHILE IN CUSTODY At least three inmates have died in the past two years due to drug overdoses, records show. [name1 redacted], 34, died in a hospital in March 2014 after Black Hawk County Jail officials found him unresponsive. It was later determined that [name1 redacted] had ingested drugs before his arrest, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. [name2 redacted], 25, of Council Bluffs, died in December. An investigation showed that she smuggled methamphetimine into the jail hidden in a body cavity, took the drugs, fell unconscious and died of an overdose at a hospital. Her death is listed as a suicide. The most recent death was that of [name3 redacted], a 38-year-old Des Moines man found unresponsive in a Polk County Jail cell in March. He later died at a local hospital. The coroner reported finding nine bags of heroin in his stomach. [name3 redacted] had been arrested by Des Moines police two days before his March 25 death for charges related to a drug investigation. He initially ran from police, who said they suspected that he swallowed drugs while fleeing. Dozens of people have protested his death, demanding answers. Roger Kuhle with the Polk County Attorney's office said no specific protocol dictates how jailers deal with inmates suspected of swallowing narcotics before arrest. But staffers believe they had done everything they could in [name3 redacted]'s case to guarantee his safety, Kuhle said. [name3 redacted] was examined by paramedics as he was being taken into custody and was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Kuhle said he is uncertain whether medical scans were conducted during the evaluations. "I'm assuming he would have been told if he had swallowed something, 'Let us help you. It could kill you,'" Kuhle said. If police were convinced that [name3 redacted] had swallowed drugs, they could have obtained a court order to pump his stomach to seize evidence. Kuhle said he believes [name3 redacted] denied swallowing the drugs even after his medical assessment, so the jail staff had no reason to believe he was at risk. "We've heard from some people that this was preventable, but we disagree totally," Kuhle said. Efforts to reach [name3 redacted]'s family were unsuccessful, and calls to Matt Boles, a Des Moines attorney hired to represent them, were not returned. No lawsuit has been filed in the death. Jails rarely conduct cavity searches, John Godar, president of the Iowa State Sheriffs' & Deputies' Association, said in response to questions prompted by the Page County case. Iowa law requires that such searches be done only by a doctor, unless the arrested person voluntarily waives the requirement in writing. When jail staffers conduct strip searches, they are not allowed to physically touch the inmate but, instead, ask the inmate to show body cavity locations to verify that no drugs, weapons or contraband make their way into the jail, Godar noted. Disability Rights Iowa, a group that reviews some of the state's inmate deaths, supports law enforcement efforts to defer key decisions about physical and mental health to medical professionals, as Kuhle said was done in the Walls case. "If hospitals are not following through or not finding anything that would keep somebody, I'm not sure what else law enforcement could do in those situations," said Whitney Driscoll, an attorney for Disability Rights Iowa. "In hindsight, it's unfortunate that the hospital didn't find the narcotics. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D