Lawsuit filed over jail death

County, individuals named in federal civil rights action

NEWPORT – A man awaiting sentencing for killing his mother died in the Pend Oreille County jail because jailers were negligent about his medical care, a federal civil rights lawsuit filed April 4 contends.

Jacob Mitchell, the 29-year-old man awaiting sentencing for killing Carolyn Mitchell in Newport in 2022, was found dead in his Pend Oreille County Jail cell in April 2023. He died because his jailers and the county didn’t provide him adequate medical care, according to the lawsuit. That violated Mitchell’s civil rights, the federal lawsuit filed April 4 in Spokane charges.

In addition to the county, six jailers Alyssa Deal, Dan Emert, Eric Krsak, Caleb Whitney, Cameron Ferguson and Bill Zamora were individually charged in the lawsuit. Five unnamed people are also included, who “… were/are at all pertinent times individuals, law enforcement personnel, and/ or contracted medical providers employed by Defendant Pend Oreille County …” The lawsuit was brought by Mitchell’s father, Harry Joe Mitchell, on behalf of Mitchell’s estate.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages, including punitive damages, “in an amount to be proven at trial,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit came following a $3 million tort claim for damages filed against Pend Oreille County late last year. In February 2025, a similar $3 million tort claim was filed against Pend Oreille Hospital District No. 1, charging “Mr. Mitchell’s injuries were caused by the negligence and/or medical malpractice of agents at Newport Hospital in violation of Washington law, and their conduct violated his constitutional right to adequate medical care under the Eighth Amendment (42 U.S.C. § 1983) and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.”

Neither the county nor the hospital district responded to the claims, one of Mitchell’s attorneys, Lauren Freidenberg, said.

When asked for a comment on the status of the claim, Pend Oreille County Prosecutor Dolly Hunt said it is the county’s policy not to comment on pending claims or litigation. Hospital CEO Kim Manus did not reply to a request for comment.

Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee, who was not named in the lawsuit, submitted an Unexpected Fatality Review to the state Department of Health, as required by law. It was posted to the DOH website in March. (see associated story).

Jacob Mitchell had Type 1 diabetes, schizophrenia and other mental health conditions. The Spokane County Medical Examiner determined that he died from complications from Type1 diabetes melitus.

The lawsuit claims jailers did not provide him with an individualized treatment plan.

“Jail staff knew he had not been provided a diabetic diet and could not manage his oral intake or his diabetes on his own,” the lawsuit reads. “Nevertheless, Mr. Mitchell only had appointments to treat acute issues concerning his diabetes, which was a direct result of Pend Oreille County Jail’s failure to provide him with adequate medical care.”

The lawsuit claims Mitchell was crying out in pain in the days before he died.

“In response to Mr. Mitchell crying, screaming and asking for help, they told him to ‘shut up,’” the lawsuit alleges.

Mitchell was booked into jail Feb. 6, 2022, the day after he killed his mother. The lawsuit says the county contracted with Newport hospital for medical services. According to the suit, in addition to Type 1 diabetes, he “had a history of schizophrenia, depression, suicide attempts, and other non-specified mental health disorders.”

In May 2022, prosecutors sought expedited admission to Eastern State Hospital for Mitchell, citing his suicide attempts, inability to offer intelligible speech and defecating in his cell, the complaint says. The prosecutor cited a Counseling Services report that outlined his deterioration while in custody and his inability to manage his diabetes due to his mental health condition. Mitchell spent more than a month at Eastern, the lawsuit said.

April 2, 2023, Mitchell received emergency medical treatment at Newport Hospital for hypoglycemia, low blood sugar. April 3, the day before he died, the lawsuit alleges that Mitchell was trembling so bad that a blood sugar test could not be conducted three different times. A hospital Physician’s Assistant had him brought to the hospital after the second attempt, where his blood sugar was tested, and his diabetes reevaluated. He was returned to jail.

According to the lawsuit, the evening of April 4, 2023, Mitchell could not pull up his pants and he laid on the floor. A deputy helped him pull up his pants, picked him up off the floor and moved him to his bed. Mitchell rolled off the bed and around on the cell floor without deputy intervention, the lawsuit alleges. Later, he was given a long-lasting insulin injection “even though his blood sugar levels were normal and he had previous emergency department visits and discharge instructions regarding Mr. Mitchell’s hypoglycemia.”

Mitchell kneeled on the floor in a prayer position over his bed. A corrections officer saw him go into that position and maintained it for a long time and did nothing, according to the lawsuit. Another corrections officer came onto shift, saw Mitchell in that position twitching with tremors and didn’t check on him, the lawsuit says.

He was discovered dead several hours later in that same position.

The complaint contends that the denial of adequate medical care constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The complaint seeks punitive damages against the defendants, alleging their conduct was malicious, oppressive, or in deliberate or reckless disregard of Jacob Mitchell’s constitutionally protected rights.