Inmate death reported

Friday, May 14. 2010

An inmate died while in custody at the Jackson County Jail on May 6.

Dennis Keith McElroy, 51, Bogart was booked into the Jackson County Jail April 30 on a bench warrant for failure to appear. He had been placed in the medical unit for detox treatment and was taking prescribed medications, according to Major David Cochran of the sheriff’s office.

He was found in his cell inside the medical unit around 10:30 a.m. Foul play is not suspected and the body was sent to the state crime lab. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was requested to conduct the investigation into the death.

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#1 Godless80 on 05/14/10 at 01:58 PM [Reply]

Wow, from detox really? someone dropped the ball on this one big time! Damn bet he wished he showed up for court now, sad but if he had did what he was suppose to probbley wouldn't have been there in the first place

#1.1 UWILLBJUDGED on 10/09/10 at 08:46 PM [Reply]

You are one misinformed person. So Mr.Knowitall, if you had done any homework, before shooting your mouth off "you might have learned something". Defendent's for FTA report 68% do not get their notice, it's sent regular mail. It is a fact that 31.8% do not. THAT'S ALMOST 1 OUT OF 3. However a man is dead because of incompetent jailer's, you say gee some one dropped the ball but he should have been in court. If I were you, I would hope I never got a ticket. I'm not going to tell you the stat's of people who send in their payment and it get's lost in the mail, credited to another account etc. Contributing to the 31.8% of FTA'S. By the way thank's for voting for Obama, hope you got the change you wanted.

#2 The_Nurse on 05/15/10 at 09:57 AM [Reply]

Hey Mike why don't you dig into this one a little deeper, like does that new jail have the proper medical staff for a jail that big or is the county trying to get by on the cheap which now will cost us taxpayers more. As a nurse it is rare for someone to die from detox in a medical wing where they should be being monitored and Major David Cochran was quoted saying he was getting medication, would like to know what time he died and was there medical staff at the jail when it happened, this needs to be investegated, I know that there nothing criminal that happened for the sound of this, but someone needs to make sure inmate medical needs are being met so the taxpayers of Jackson county don't get stuck paying for lawsuits on top of that jail that is way too big for this small county

#2.1 Corrections Nurse 4 16years on 05/18/10 at 01:36 PM [Reply]

This matter IS being looked into, all in custody deaths are investigated by the GBI. Yes, it is rare for someone to die from detox, but it can occur; any nurse would know there are many underlying conditions that can be present. Any nurse who has ever worked in corrections knows when someone is booked, you have to rebuild a whole medical file from scratch...."i don't remember my dr's name, i dont remember where i was gettin my meds from, or my personal favorite, i just ran out and i was on my way the drs office when i got arrested", and "the last time i took my medicine for hypertension and heart disease was when you gave it to me last year when i was here." The majority of correctional health programs have a detox protocol with withdrawal meds, a routine mapped out of how to follow up with these inmates. I'm sure if all policy and procedures were followed, then there will not be a lawsuit for the taxpayers to worry about.I'm sure the inmate medical needs are being met, and i'm almost positive the investigation will state "inmate dies of natural causes." As a matter of fact, the majority of inmates recieve better medical care while incarcerated than they do on the street...and its free to them! And by the way, Jackson County is not a small county.

#2.1.1 the nurse on 05/19/10 at 01:38 PM [Reply]

Jackson county is a small county, even though they built that hugh jail, it still has less than 200 hundred inmates, that is small, gwinnett county has over 3000 inmates, that's big!

#3 Michael McCarthy on 05/15/10 at 11:41 PM [Reply]

Detox unit: Place to die while not being observed

#4 dogpack134 on 05/19/10 at 06:58 AM [Reply]

Mike will not look into this because it is the Sheriff's Office. If it was Jefferson, Pendergrass,Braselton, or Arcade you would have to beat his staff out of City Hall. Everyone knows that the main street news is very bias towards local municipalities. The Sheriff has a say in which paper is considered the legal organ. How many reports have you read about the inmate being "accidently" released last month. I also think Mike and his paper is very scared of Sheirff Evans.

#5 JAUTRY on 05/19/10 at 03:19 PM [Reply]

Hey Michael,,, that's likely incorrect. In most jails, especially the newer ones the medical unit is more strengently manned than other parts of the jail. Detox protocols are very precise and are very specific in nature. It is unfortunate that anyone dies in custody, or anywhere else for that matter. But I'll be willing to bet that when the dust clears and all the results are in you'll find that the JCSO went above and beyond to try to assure the safety and health of this person.

#5.1 Godless on 05/21/10 at 04:53 AM [Reply]

Jautry don't you know the new jail is undermanned, the BOC would give the sheriff the requested man power for the new jail, it is being run with just a little more man power than the old jail, which was alot smaller, also it does not have 24 hour medical staff. And let's also remember when the inmate hanged himself a while back in the old jail, 2 deputies were fired for lying and documenting that they were monitoring the inmate when he was in his cell hanging.it say he was found in his cell, it kinda leaves out things like was cpr performed? was a AED used? Was he taken to the hospital or how long was it suspected he was dead before he was discovered. if there is a problem with staffing the public needs to know, or we'll just pay with our taxes with the lawsuits. and know I never see Mr. Buffington look into the sheriff's office, where is a article about the deputy that was just fired from jackson county sheriff office for havinf a relationship with a 16 y/o girl, it ran in the athens paper, I want some balanced coverage, When a JPD officer did that it was all over this paper. Mike does Stan Evans have something on you? cause I remember there wasn't much in here about that hanging either though athens had several articles about it also. Come Mike do some investagating, I don't think their was foul play, but some imcompentance or lack of man power, or poor management is going on over there, would like to know if all the jail and medical policies where met or not. if he did during detox that is not natural causes, it means he died during a medical treatment, just like if someone died during surgery, you have to ask question like, was this man healthy enough to detox in a jail setting, a jail detox is not the same as a detox center, there is not a doctor there everyday, there is a nurse but not all the time, I have worked with detox patients and not all would it be safe to detox like that, it would be reckless and endangering to the inmates life,we are not talking about a violent criminal here, he was in jail for a driving offense, was there any signs prior that he may be having health problems or have health issues that would make this unsafe to do and who was aware and when, and what if anything was done that may have been able to prevent this. dying during a controlled detox is not common and very rare, so Mike why don't you investagate this.I want to know did Dennis Mcelroy tell them he had any medical problems if he knew he did? was he being monitored properly? was he healthy enough to detox in this setting with proper medical judgement and if not was jail administration notified by medical and was anything done, I want to know if this was just a tragic thing or was the ball dropped somewhere like the last death in the jail and are the taxpayers gonna have to fork over some tax money to pay off the family, come on Mike there's a lot to look into here

#5.1.1 Mike Buffington on 05/21/10 at 07:41 AM [Reply]

The article about the fired deputy was in this week's edition Page 3A. As for the death, the case is under review by the GBI. Let's see how that plays out before assuming that someone did something wrong to cause the death.

#5.1.1.1 godless on 05/21/10 at 09:26 AM [Reply]

GBI only looks into foul play and if there was a crime, as in the inmate hanging things were done very wrong but there was no crime, GBI turned over to DA and did not recommend any charges. GBI investagation will not do anything, but the civil suits as a result will cost the taxpayers money. Maybe the sheriff is spending too much time at the funeral home and not enough time running the department, I do believe when you ran the county saleries in last years paper he was the second hightest paid behind the county manager and is making a 6 figure salery off the taxpayers

#5.1.1.2 Come on Mike on 05/22/10 at 08:29 AM [Reply]

Give me a break Mike, The death of that poor misguided soul would have been on the front page above the fold in any other county newspaper except Jackson. You and the Sheriff are VERY TIGHT.
Also, the firing of Deputies is always buried on page 3a or somewhere.
It's going to be embarrasing when Channel 2 gets here to investigate the item that was found in the old Jail basement, that I'm sure you know about, but didn't want it published.

#5.1.2 Anonymous on 05/25/10 at 09:09 AM [Reply]

Good questions. Here's another one: What ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?????
How many people are arrested each year for NOTHING? Please consider the cases dismissed, charges dropped, wrong identity etc. ANY of us could go to jail and end up there for a day or so until bond or whatever gets us out. I have known people who were picked up and not ARRAIGNED for DAYS - no bond is possible until arraignment. I can't believe (or should I say, it hurts to see) all the hateful comments about this death from this article and especially the one in the Athens paper.
Medications should be continued during such temporary incarceration without prejudice. Most people have access to medications they take daily which could be provided to the jail. This is a FAR BETTER protocol for taxpayers and inmates. Medical supervision in jail is absolutely inadequate for "detox" regardless of how caring the staff- they simply do not have the budget for the amount of TIME necessary.
We do not sentence people to the death penalty for DUI or failure to appear. Methadone withdrawal related death has cost the taxpayers of MANY counties millions of dollars (Orange county Florida - $5 million for example)when a simple solution exists: continue ALL verified prescription medication until the INMATE'S physician can advise otherwise. The solution in Florida was to coordinate care with local treatment programs.

#5.2 Michael McCarthy on 06/06/10 at 02:02 AM [Reply]

Jautry: Sorry about the delay in responding. Unless he was on a heart monitor, he wasn't properly monitored. I'm not saying that is the standard of care but I am saying it should be. Detox is a medical procedure and should not be performed in a jail.

I appreciate your comment in any case. And I don't specifically blame a sherriff's department that has not been properly trained in medicine. It's just the wrong people and wrong place for rehab and detox.

#5.2.1 another corrections nurse on 06/07/10 at 07:27 PM [Reply]

Mr. McCarthy, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Jackson County would need to have a hospital instead of a jail, because 90 percent of inmates will be detoxed after the booking process...if they stay in jail for more than a week, whether it is Meth, Methadone, Crack, Lortabs, etc.... Maybe Jackson County should increase your taxes to pay for such. Just saying...

#5.2.1.1 Michael McCarthy on 06/08/10 at 12:45 AM [Reply]

That is a fair assessment of the situation. If you're not capable then shut it down. Raising taxes aside, I don't want to be responsible for causing the death of someone. Shoddy care is no better than no care. And if you're really a nurse you should know what I mean. I'm not ignorant of the facts. I am a respiratory therapist. Either provide safe care or get out of the business. There's no excuse for gross negligence. Setting up a system that does not properly monitor the patient is gross negligence. (in my opinion) As a law student also, I'm sure I could convince a jury of these facts as well which will cost the county milliions of dollars. So my advice, take care of your patients or turn them over to someone who knows how.

#5.2.1.1.1 another corrections nurse on 06/10/10 at 06:03 AM [Reply]

Once again Mr. McCarthy, you are correct. And yes sir, I really am a nurse actively working in corrections and have been for the past twenty years.You should do a few tours down in the trenches of correctional medicine. Do you think most of these inmates tell you what they are really on, or that they are alcoholics, or that they are addicted to illegal drugs? In this inmates death, i believe he did tell them he was on a prescribed substance, but detoxing from that medications is not that deadly.....As another nurse stated, he probably had several underlying conditions that were not disclosed, or not known by the inmate. As far as you being a resp therapist, it doesnt really matter if you are a doctor, if you have never worked in corrections, then you really dont understand. ALSO, you need to study hard as a law student, because in the state of GA, i'm sure the care of this inmate was above and beyond what was mandated. In my 20 years, i have only had one death, and it was due to natural causes, but i have been lucky, there could have been others especially with the drug abuse that is going on now. Someone on here mentioned proper pain control, seriously? Do you know the majority of inmates come in now on the BIG #: Methadone, Soma, and Xanax for a such things as a previously broken arm? I think the real crime is all of the pain management clinics..most of these inmates sale half their meds or they get them filled on the 4th and get arrested on the 6th with only 4 pills left. If you want to close down the jail, then maybe all the criminals can come hang out on your lawn. OR maybe JC should build a pre incarceration detox unit with your tax dollars. Just saying Michael, theres more out there than just your little world.

#5.2.1.1.1.1 Michael McCarthy on 06/10/10 at 01:34 PM [Reply]

It really doesn't matter what is mandated. (by whom?) If you allow a patient to die because he is not monitored during your (detox) procedure then you personally could be held liable for monitary damages as well as the county. I don't need to work in corrections to understand malpractice and negligence. That is for a jury to decide. So, perhaps it's your little world that could be exposed in a court of law, not mine.

Incidentally, addiction rates have remained approximately the same since drugs were made illegal. Criminalizing drug abuse just compounds the problems. These people (and they are human beings) should be in healthcare, not in jail if drugs are their only crime. Just my opinion on this matter. Everyone has one.

#5.2.1.1.1.1.1 whatever on 06/11/10 at 06:36 AM [Reply]

Most of these "people" are not just charged with drug abuse---AND if you follow policy and procedure, you are not liable for anything. I've worked in this field a long time and very aware of the law.i have been in just a few court cases, but never lost. BUT i can see i'm fighting a loosing battle here with you, you will never see the big picture or anothers opinion. You must be a democrat. By the way, everyone does have an opinion!

#5.2.1.1.1.1.1.1 Michael McCarthy on 06/11/10 at 09:38 AM [Reply]

Oh contrare, if the policy goes against things you should know as a licensed professional, then you better have protested this practice (in writing) or you will be hanging with the institution that you are serving. You are not a janitor when you are a licensed nurse. Don't try to duck the question by saying, "they told me to do it this way." A jury would look very dimly on that defense.

BTW, I've never voted for a Democrat. But I do "think" about these things.

#6 dogpack 134 on 05/21/10 at 01:07 PM [Reply]

Godless, you are right with all of the questions. Mike sure didn't wait on the GBI to finish the Glenn investigation to clear him every week in the paper. Of course we are talking about his friends. That is the reason he has never given Chief Worthman a fair shake, because of the frinedship between Chief Glenn and himself. I'm sure Mike and Sheriff Evans are old friends also.

#6.1 Emmett Delaney on 05/25/10 at 07:52 AM [Reply]

Ah.....excuse me but the charges against Cheif Glenn were, in the end, shown to be false.

#7 citizen on 05/22/10 at 09:57 PM [Reply]

OK people, I lived in the county a long time and I remember YEARS ago when Mike was after Stan long ago I think not long after Stan became Sheriff on a story. Mike, I don't believe, is trying to not cover a story at all. I will also say, people are quick to want to start blaming the police, in this case the sheriff's dept. over a man dying. I agree with the corrections nurse, time will tell. Besides, people in jail don't really cover their medical needs the best. Let's remember, the people in jail should act like the rest of us citizens and do as expected and they would not be in there. It's amazing some of the people that whine in these posts. I personally have known Stan for years and find him respectable. If a fraction of the people that write these posts believe they can run an any officer better they need to seek election for an office. Oh, I'm sorry, they rather, bitch, moan and complain because they believe someone owes them something in life.

#7.1 Godless on 05/23/10 at 12:22 PM [Reply]

Yeah I remember when the JPD officer was caught doing the same thing it was all over this site. and to Citizen, the people should critize their leaders, so many of them in this county are the good old boys and do what they want. I mean even that new jail opening early fell underneath the rader and was barely reported on, and how much more a year will it cost to run?, seems like the jackson county leaders just keep getting us into more debt, without any repurcussions. take a good look jackson county residents, these are what you call conservative republicans? We should all take a good hard look at this and bring back the southern democrat, I'll take tax and spend anyday or spend and pay for it later.

#7.2 UGAgirl on 05/26/10 at 04:02 AM [Reply]

I agree with the fact that folks in jail should act right or whatever but I'm a prime example of being a hardworking citizen that was in the wrong place, made all the wrong decisions, & am still paying for it almost 5 yrs later. While I have respect for most officers, there are several in this county that think that their badge gives them all the right to harass certain people that live in a bad community or who happens to come in contact with them on a bad day. Not to mention the fact that my no insurance ticket i recieved at the end of 2005 was only $412 and presently is a whopping $1,020 for the first offense so clearly its not only our taxes thats paying for the new jail. As for the inmate death; if our local government clearly sees that we need a new courthouse, jail, etc. then this death doesnt need to be in vain. If inmates come to jail already taking prescribed medications, then the medical staff needs to be able to continue the medication instead of detoxing folks that, for whatever reason, need the meds. If its understaffed anyway, wouldnt that make sense instead of having to monitor their vitals and watch them go through the pain. I was born and raised in Jackson County & have seen alot of corruption in my lifetime. I'm so ready to pack up and relocate!!

#8 JAUTRY on 05/25/10 at 06:05 PM [Reply]

There's a couple of folks on here that need to remember the old saying...."It's better to keep you mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it, and remove all doubt."
For someone pretending to be intelligent you have sure taken this discussion in some curious directions!

#9 former correctional nurse on 05/27/10 at 10:27 AM [Reply]

as a nurse and former correctional nurse for a time i can tell you medical units in jails are understaffed as with law enforcement new tasers or a patrol car are more important that inmate healthcare. most are outsourced to private companies whose goal is to do it as cheap as possible to make a profit. If the jackson county jail does not have 24 hour medical care than is medically unsafe to detox anyone, and the blame would fall on sheriff Stan Evans as sheriff it is his job to run the jail and provide for the inmates, if something was not correctly done by sheriff office staff or the medical contractors it is also the sheriifs fault. But I do believe someone brought up a bigger issue, why was this person being detoxed at all? yes alchololics would have to be detoxed, and this is very dangerous thing to do as they have siezures and can die from them, but from doctor prescriptions, painkillers, antianxiety medications which are controlled, this also falls on the sheriff as this can be controlled by the sheriff. Also many mental health medications are stopped on inmates due to thier cost, most get medicaid on outside but it is illegal to use medications paid for by medicare/medicaid in a jail per federal law. this causes a increased suicide rate and also dangers correctional staff and the inmate if they become violet due to not haveing there proper medication, I have seen this done and happen many times. I left the correctional nursing field not because I didn't like it, you get a wide verity of health issues, mental health, drug addiction, and as a nurse hopefully the chance to change a few lives and these are the people in true need, but the moral compromises that have to be made to the system, the things like not being able to get a patient proper pain medication due to jail rules with controlled substances, not being able to correct mental health medications due to costs. We lock people up so quick in this country for so many stupid things and forget about them, our whole criminal justice system is a failure to what this country is about, just take the case where the woman left that kid in the car to die and got 12 months probation, yet you can have a simple drug possession charge and get more probation and you are hurting no one but yourself. and yes drug addiction is a medicall and mental health issue, it has a dx code and treatment guide lines and most people will not get better without treatment and most have a underlying mental health problem and the moral right in this country rather throw them in jail than face the problem and then people die. I love the christian way of doing things.

#10 Kayjay on 08/07/10 at 10:25 PM [Reply]

That is not the Christian way of doing things.

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