KENNEWICK — Faviola Valenzuela wasn’t supposed to be in jail when she died in a Franklin County cell two years ago.
The day before the 42-year-old Pasco woman’s death, a Tri-Cities judge decided she could be released on her own recognizance.
But that didn’t happen and she was still being held in the Pasco facility when she died on March 15, 2022.
Someone, it’s not clear who, had raised concerns about her mental health and whether she needed to be involuntarily committed to be evaluated, according to a new federal lawsuit filed by her father and son.
The U.S. District Court lawsuit claims there was no sign that Franklin County officials took any steps to have her transferred to a mental health facility.
That allegation is among several failures by Franklin County jail staff, the county’s medical contractor and its parent company that led to Valenzuela’s death, claims the lawsuit.
Her family asked for $25 million in damages when it filed a claim against the county before filing the federal lawsuit.
Valenzuela had developmental disabilities and the cognitive capacity of a 12-year-old, according to the suit.
Throughout her life she frequently found herself at odds with the law, though all of her arrests were for misdemeanor crimes, such as trespassing and misdemeanor assault, public records show.
According to jail medical records, she suffered from anxiety, depression and diabetes.
An autopsy showed she died from methamphetamine intoxication and an acute kidney injury.
The family’s attorneys Bret Uhrich and Edwardo Morfin claim Franklin County corrections officers and medical contractors hired by the county left Valenzuela suffering in a holding cell for four days after her initial arrest.
She was left in the cell, where she soiled herself and cried out in distress, all the while she refused to eat and barely drank water, they said.
“Ms. Valenzuela was not in multiple organ failure at the time of her booking. Had Ms. Valenzuela been subject to proper medical treatment, her acute kidney injury consistent with myoglobin nephropathy and hepatic necrosis were treatable conditions,” says the lawsuit.
They argue that Valenzuela’s condition was completely treatable if she had received adequate medical help.
“Franklin County has a demonstrated pattern of practice of inadequate policies and practices and has placed the lives and safety of incarcerated individuals at risk,” says the lawsuit.
Valenzuela’s death was one of four in the jail between November 2021 and July 2022.
Malpractice and negligence claims
The lawsuit names Franklin County, medical contractor Western Medical Resources and its parent company, as well as Sheriff Jim Raymond and two jail employees.
It claims the medical staff engaged in malpractice, that the county was negligent, that Valenzuela’s 14th Amendment rights were violated.
The lawsuit asks a judge to award compensation for Valenzuela’s pain and suffering, funeral expenses and more.
Sheriff Raymond told the Herald he couldn’t comment on the pending litigation.
Developmental disabilities
Pasco police arrested Valenzuela on March 12, 2022, for throwing a flowerpot through the window of a door, according to court documents.
As she was being booked into jail, Valenzuela reportedly appeared disoriented and wasn’t responding to questions, said her family’s attorneys.
Western Medical Resources staff decided she needed to be medically cleared before being booked in, but she was not taken to any area hospitals, says the lawsuit.
Officials noted that her heart rate was unusually high after she was arrested, but it was never checked in the next four days.
“Beyond the initial medical screening, no medical or mental health encounters occurred during the duration of the time Ms. Valenzuela was in custody,” the complaint said.
In addition, jail staff allegedly didn’t supply her with any of her medications while she was in jail.
Because she had an “extreme mental disability and a previous use of force incident,” jailers placed her in a segregated observation cell measuring 6-feet by 12-feet. The cell didn’t have a toilet, sink, bed or any other fixtures other than a drain in the floor, the lawyers said
According to images included with the complaint, she had some bedding on the floor.
“Faviola Valenzuela was placed in solitary isolation for several days in a cell with only one window on the door that was covered by a screen, and the only means of observing the inside of the cell was a camera placed in the corner of the ceiling of the cell, or by physically walking to the cell and moving the screen from the window on the door or opening the door,” says the lawsuit.
Jail logs don’t show whether Valenzuela ever left the holding cell during the four days at the jail.
Last 33 hours
The corrections deputy who monitored her told the attorneys that she was told not to let Valenzuela out of the cell because she had a history of not following instructions and returning to her room.
The attorneys obtained video from the last 33 hours of Valenzuela’s detention as part of a Washington Public Records Act request. Throughout the video, she never stands up or rarely gets in a sitting position, according to the complaint.
Pictures included in the documents show her lying on the floor with some bedding.
For the entire time 33-hour stretch, she never ate any food and only took three sips of water, the video shows.
Throughout the video, she shows signs she is distressed and rolls around on the floor.
Jail logs show mental and medial evaluators visited her cell twice during the period of time shown on the video. The first time, the medical provider opens the door but never goes into the cell.
The second time, the provider looks into the cell through the window but doesn’t open the door.
The day after a judge agreed to release her without bail, Valenzuela stopped moving in her cell about 11:10 a.m., the video shows.
About 15 minutes later, an inmate working in the hallway noticed through the window that Valenzuela appeared to be blue.
Franklin County jail officials tried to revive her, but weren’t successful.
In addition to the meth and kidney injury, she was suffering from extreme dehydration, said the lawsuit.
The attorneys contend she died because of the lack of water which allowed the meth to stay in her system longer than it normally would have.
Failed to follow policy
The suit claims that jail staff failed to follow the county’s policies on how Valenzuela should have been cared for.
County policy says that the jail is supposed to provide access to medical treatment to mitigate the effects of detoxification, and they are supposed to be evaluated by medical and mental health staff within 24 hours.
After an internal investigation found that no misconduct took place, the attorneys allege the county made no attempt to ensure that the policies were being enforced.
