CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (AP) — County jail officials in Ohio ignored the suicidal threats of a man jailed on a probation violation and took no apparent steps to prevent him from killing himself, an attorney representing the man’s mother said on Friday.
The body of Scott Coldren, 20, was found early Feb. 8 in a cell at the Ross County Jail in Chillicothe. A coroner’s report said Coldren died the previous day, attorney M. Shawn Dingus said Friday.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Columbus.
Coldren was jailed Feb. 6 for violating probation for a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia conviction. According to Dingus, Coldren called his mother from the office of his probation officer and told her he would kill himself if jailed.
Dingus said he has learned from other inmates that Coldren was put into a cell by himself away from corrections officers, pounded his head on a window and was incoherent. It is likely Coldren was detoxing from methamphetamine at the time, Dingus said.
It is not clear whether Coldren received a mental health screening at the jail, Dingus said.
A law firm representing Ross County and Sheriff George Lavender in the lawsuit did not respond to messages seeking comment on Friday.
The lawsuit seeks millions in damages.
The post Mother Files Suit Over Son’s Suicide In Ohio County Jail appeared first on The Village Reporter.
Source: The Village Reporter
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