Investigation Of Inmate's Death At JeffCo Jail Could Focus On Medical Unit
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - A woman being held in the Jefferson County Detention Facility died after she told guards she needed help. Now an investigation is underway to find out why she may not have received the help she needed in time.
Jennifer Lobato, 38, was arrested Sunday for shoplifting. A source told CBS4 Lobato began throwing up and complaining of stomach pain around 4 p.m. on Monday in her cell.
The source said Lobato was told she could see medical personnel when they arrived later in the evening. The sheriff's department couldn't confirm the time of the initial report but medical staff was already on campus. An investigation into the death appears to be focused on the jail's medical unit.
"The steps are that the deputy would call down to the medical unit and say, 'I have a sick inmate who is ill, she's showing these symptoms ... and would like to see medical.' " Jefferson County Sheriff spokesman Mark Techmeyer said. "The medical unit will then make the determination if they need to come up and see them immediately; if they need to be sent down immediately, or perhaps they can wait until they do their (medical) rounds."
The medical rounds go through the inmate towers from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. By 7:15 p.m. Lobato was dead and the unit was in a different area. It's unclear if her ailment was listed as a priority.
Lobato was being housed in maximum security and monitored by two deputies who would have checked on her every half hour. There was no video inside her cell. It's not clear how visible Lobato's suffering might have been beyond her initial request for help.
"Our deputies don't have that level of medical training (to say), 'You're throwing up, you must see medical.' It's a decision made by the medical unit," Techmeyer said.
The cause of death could be released on Wednesday.
