Summit County, Colorado, Agrees to a $3.5 Million Settlement in Death of Prisoner Zachary Moffitt
In Summit County Jail in Breckenridge, Colorado, 33-year-old Zachary Moffitt, a prisoner, allegedly died in jail after suffering alcohol withdrawal in July 2013. On Thursday, November 16, 2017, Summit County agreed to pay Moffitt’s family $3.5 in an alleged wrongful death lawsuit. The settlement will need to be approved in probate court, since Moffitt’s two children are the ones who will receive the payout.
Records show that before being taken to jail, he had been admitted to a hospital for alcohol poisoning. The hospital contacted the police after Moffitt walked out of the hospital while allegedly still with a high blood alcohol content. Summit County police officers arrested him. The family claims that Moffitt had been exhibiting symptoms of alcohol withdrawal for three days while in jail, and the jail failed to provide medical attention. Authorities say he suffered cardiac arrest and was on life support for four days before he died.
Summit County Sheriff John Minor had asked that a formal review be done of the custodial death by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It was determined by CBI that detention deputies did not take wrongful actions that could have led to Moffitt’s death. No charges were filed in connection with his death.
In Texas, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards investigates whenever there is a custodial death, and they make determinations as to whether or not minimum jail standards were met. A basic right of prisoners is to receive needed medical attention.
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