Dequan Ward Dies in Colorado’s El Paso County Jail
Dequan Antonio Ward was an inmate in Colorado’s El Paso County Jail when, at 4:30 a.m. on August 15, 2025, he was discovered unresponsive in his bunk bed. Medical staff and deputies with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office responded and began an attempt to revive Mr. Ward. The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) and paramedics with American Medical Response (AMR) arrived at 4:38 a.m. and assumed lifesaving efforts.
Tragically, Dequan Ward was pronounced deceased at 4:57 a.m. He was only 37 years old. There was no indication of foul play, self-harm, or assault upon initial investigation into Mr. Ward’s death.
As ordered by the county sheriff, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division will conduct an in-depth investigation into this tragic incident. The sheriff expressed that the investigation is being conducted according to the standards of protocol that are applied to all citizens in the county.
An autopsy has been requested by the sheriff, and it will be handled by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office.
No other information about what may have been the cause of Mr. Ward’s untimely death has been made available at this time.
El Paso County Jail has an inmate capacity of about 1,000. The El Paso County Jail is located at 2739 E Las Vegas St, Texas Springs, Colorado 80906.
Is There Any Justice When an Inmate Dies Due to Jail Medical Neglect?
The 1976 Supreme Court ruled that when the serious medical needs of convicted inmates are met with deliberate indifference by jail staff, including medical staff, it constitutes the wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Despite this ruling, medical neglect in local jails seems to be the standard, based on studies and statistics.
For example, a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health showed that inmates in U.S. jails are substantially less likely to receive treatment for many common and serious conditions than the general population. Shockingly, another study found that nearly 70% of jail inmates with chronic conditions receive no medical treatment.
So, does anyone pay the price when medical neglect results in an inmate’s death? Yes, people are sometimes held responsible. After deaths have been investigated, a range of jail personnel have been criminally charged. In addition to nurses and physicians, correctional officers and their supervisors have been found to have contributed to an inmate’s death due to deliberate indifference. The following are a few examples:
- A nurse in Tennessee was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired inmate in 2022 after a fatal medication error.
- A nurse in Virginia was sentenced to a year of incarceration due to circumstances involving an inmate who had been entrusted to her care.
- A deputy lieutenant pleaded guilty to his part in the death of an inmate who was denied medical care. The lieutenant was sentenced to three years in custody.
- A California nurse was charged with involuntary manslaughter because of her role in the death of a 24-year-old inmate Elisa Serna.
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