A federal jury has found Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and jail medical staff were not negligent in the death of a mentally ill inmate who was fatally injured at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in French Valley.
Two correctional deputies found Mario Solis unresponsive in his trash-littered cell, flooded with toilet water, at 1 a.m. Sept. 3, 2022. The 31-year-old Riverside man was pronounced dead 39 minutes later after failed attempts by correctional and medical staff to resuscitate him.
Court records indicate Solis died of asphyxia after swallowing a toothbrush, two plastic bags containing bars of soap, a plastic cap and a golf pencil, which punctured a jugular vein. The coroner ruled Solis’ death accidental despite his history of suicide attempts and a prior threat to kill himself with a pencil, according to court records.
Solis’ mother, Sara Solis, sued Sheriff Chad Bianco and his department in May 2023, alleging that jail staff failed to protect her son from harm or provide adequate medical care, and that the department’s policies and practices resulted in her son’s death.
An undated image showing the condition of inmate Mario Solis’s cell at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in French Valley, where he was found unresponsive at 1 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2022. He died 39 minutes later after failed efforts by jail correctional and medical staff to resuscitate him. (Source: Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)The six-day trial concluded Feb. 3 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles with a unanimous jury verdict that sheriff’s deputies and jail medical staff did not violate Solis’ 14th Amendment rights through unconstitutional conditions of confinement, inadequate medical care or failure to protect him.
Solis’ death was featured in a recent Southern California News Group series investigating in-custody deaths across four Southern California counties, particularly focusing on how they handle medical treatment and suicide prevention for severely mentally ill detainees.
The family’s attorney, Denisse Gastelum, called Solis’ death one of the worst she has ever seen in the carceral system.
Bianco, who testified at the trial, said in a statement Friday: “We were confident from the beginning that the jury would find in our favor. What is reported in the media and the theatrics by attorneys does not represent fact. I am heartbroken for the families who lose loved ones.”
Bianco, a leading candidate for California governor in early polls, said the Sheriff’s Department “is committed to the safety and security of not only our inmates, but the residents of Riverside County.”
Gastelum said she will appeal the verdict.
Solis had been in custody on a second-degree robbery charge after allegedly attempting to steal a bag of Skittles from a supermarket in April 2022 that resulted in a scuffle with a security guard.
Solis, who had a history of schizoaffective disorder, major depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse, was housed in three jails during his five months in custody. He was “shuttled in and out of safety cells” and twice admitted to Riverside University Health System Medical Center for 72-hour psychiatric holds.
Related links
3 more wrongful-death lawsuits target Riverside County jails Death behind bars: Who’s dying in Southern California county jails — and why Death behind bars: County jails embrace reforms to save lives, but will they work? Riverside County Sheriff’s Department again under fire for jail inmate deaths State launches investigation into death rate in Riverside County jailsHe later was assigned to a special housing unit at Cois Byrd for severely mentally ill inmates considered a danger to themselves or others, court records show.
Solis was one of 19 people to die in Riverside County jails in 2022, the highest death rate there in 15 years.
The deaths fueled a spate of wrongful death lawsuits against the Sheriff’s Department and Bianco in 2022 and 2023 amid ongoing scrutiny over inmate deaths in Riverside County jails. It also prompted an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office in February 2023 that is still ongoing.
Hence then, the article about jury finds riverside county sheriff s department not liable in death of mentally ill inmate was published today ( ) and is available on The Orange County Register ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Jury finds Riverside County Sheriff’s Department not liable in death of mentally ill inmate )
Also on site :