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| N.Y. Faults County in Suicide at Jail |
| By Newsday |
| Published: 10/03/2002 |
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A Suffolk County inmate who committed suicide earlier this year was given only a 'cursory' evaluation by county mental health officials, was inadequately monitored by correction officers and was not given prescribed medication, according to a state investigation. The inmate, Ernest Kilgore, 31, of Flanders, used a blanket to block the view into his cell and then hanged himself, a report based on the investigation states. Logs tracking officers' patrols on Kilgore's cell tier were improperly removed from the area just after his death, the report says. The report, released recently by the state Commission of Correction, which oversees the county jails, is critical of virtually every aspect of Kilgore's care while he was at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead. It recommends the jail conduct an inquiry into why the log books were removed and why officers weren't doing the 15-minute patrols they are supposed to do on the mental observation tier where Kilgore was housed. The jail's chief of staff, Alan Otto, said he could not comment on the report because Kilgore's family has filed a wrongful death suit against the county, and an internal review of the death was not complete. Kilgore's family could not be reached to comment. Kilgore was arrested on attempted murder and robbery charges on Dec. 6. He had been a drug abuser and appeared 'hopeless, tearful' and depressed, the state report said. He was a high suicide risk and 'needed comprehensive management, which was not provided,' the report states. The state ordered the county health department, which manages the mental health care of inmates, to look into 'the lack of depth and otherwise poor quality' of Kilgore's evaluations and the 'manifest failure to formulate and follow a treatment plan ... ' Initially, mental health staff put Kilgore on suicide watch, because he had tried to hang himself shortly before he was arrested. He was on suicide watch until Dec. 12, when a social worker discontinued it but ordered he remain on the mental observation tier. The report notes that since the incident, a new department policy dictates that removing an inmate from suicide watch must be done by no fewer than two mental health clinicians, and one must be a psychiatrist. On Jan. 1 at 10:28 a.m., Kilgore was discovered hanging in his cell. At the same time medical staff responded, an officer from the jail's internal investigations unit went to retrieve the patrol logs to track officers' movements and was told they were not available. The report does not indicate whether the log books were ultimately recovered but states that no officer was patrolling the area for at least 30 minutes around the time of the suicide. |
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