Current Events > Woman's death in jail ruled "homicide by medical neglect"

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https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2018/08/03/india-cummings-death-homicide-due-medical-neglect-commission-says/897632002/

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn Jr. has asked the state Attorney General's Office to investigate the death of India Cummings, a Rochester woman who died in 2016 after being held for 17 days at the Erie County Holding Center.

A June 26 report by the state Commission of Correction Medical Review Board called Cummings' treatment at the Holding Center "so grossly incompetent and inadequate so as to shock the conscience" and said her death should be ruled a homicide due to medical neglect.

A state Commission of Correction report from earlier this year listed the Erie County facility as among the five "most problematic correctional facilities in New York State." The report noted that Cummings "languished in a cell for over 10 days in an acute state of psychosis" without any attempts by staff to provide her crisis psychiatric intervention or hospitalization. Additionally, she "continued to deteriorate with an inability to adequately feed, hydrate or manage her activities of daily living."

Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan issued a "sharing order" on Wednesday authorizing Flynn to share information, evidence and material obtained by a Erie County grand jury with state Attorney General Barbara Underwood's office.

According to the Medical Review Board report, Cummings, 27, died Feb. 21, 2016 of a massive pulmonary embolism resulting from acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis, dehydration and an untreated broken arm.

She had been in custody of the Erie County Sheriff at the Erie County Holding Center from Feb. 1 to 17 after being arrested by Lackawanna Police for stealing a car.

Friends told the Democrat and Chronicle in 2016 that Cummings, who had attended Wilson Magnet High School, had lived in Lackawanna for about three months prior to her death.

At the time of her arrest, according to the Medical Review Board, Cummings had no known medical history or mental health history, was not taking any medications and had no known criminal history or police contact other than prior vehicle and traffic infractions. But on the afternoon of her arrest after police were summoned to her residence for a mental health emergency Cummings stole a car, led police on a chase, struck three vehicles, refused to comply with police instructions and ultimately was forced out of the vehicle and to the ground by arresting officers.

The review board said that based on the nature of the initial call and Cummings' erratic behavior, she should have been evaluated at a hospital before being incarcerated, but was not.

Portions of the report are heavily redacted, but still show that during her time in the holding center Cummings' mental condition deteriorated significantly, while jail staff failed to get her mental health treatment and never secured proper treatment for her broken arm. During her stay in the jail, Cummings was combative with staff, refused meals, flooded her cell with water and by Feb. 16, was seen in her cell laying naked on the floor, defecating by the door and smearing wet cereal all over the floor and herself.

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unfortunate, i would never steal a car though
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This wouldn't have happened if the prisoner had a gun
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newtonwuzvirgin posted...

unfortunate, i would never steal a car though

nice victim blaming and mental health shaming
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no one should be to blame here, the cops aren't doctors or mindreaders

just an unfortunate situation
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newtonwuzvirgin posted...

no one should be to blame here, the cops aren't doctors or mindreaders

just an unfortunate situation

Gonna go with the medical review board over the guy on CE here
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you're expecting too much from cops, they shouldn't be expected to adequately handle mental health matters

not only that but she had no history of mental illness
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7 karma
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newtonwuzvirgin posted...

you're expecting too much from cops, they shouldn't be expected to adequately handle mental health matters

not only that but she had no history of mental illness

Good point. It would indeed take a mind reader to determine that flooding her cell, shitting on the floor and smearing cereal all over her naked body were possible signs of mental illness worth having an evaluation for...
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