In 2016, an Oregon Army vet was arrested on an outstanding warrant and booked in the county jail. Five hours later, he was dead in his cell as deputies looked on and made jokes while watching him die.
Bryan Everett Perry, 31, was taken to the Clackamas County Jail on Nov. 4, 2016 at 7:15 p.m. and video footage showed deputies making sinister jokes as they watched Perry suffering from what became a fatal overdose, CBS 47 reported.
Perry’s mother, Brenda Kay Nordenstrom filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the medical staff employed by the jail, Corizon Health, and the deputies that were on duty for the five hours Perry was incarcerated.
Video: Deputies joked, laughed as Army veteran suffered fatal overdose in jail cell https://t.co/IbFtL0L0ud pic.twitter.com/Qrz2PKis8O
— WOKV News (@WOKVNews) October 8, 2018
The lawsuit alleges that Perry’s civil rights were violated and he suffered from gross negligence.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts released two cellphone videos of Perry’s last hours alive. Both videos clearly capture the callous pun from deputies.
One deputy, Ricky Paurus, can be heard saying, “Look what I got for show-and-tell today.”
The deputies were laughing in agreeance that Perry “should be put in a cage and wheeled into schools to educate students on what illicit drugs can do.”
The deputy that took the footage, Matrona Shadrin said, “I wish we could show this to his girlfriend, like, ‘You love this?’ I’m glad we took him before this kicked in.”
At the same time of Perry’s arrest, his girlfriend, Bridgette Mountsier, was also arrested. Mountsier was transferred to Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center’s ICU for an opioid and methamphetamine overdose, which was non-fatal.
Sheriff Roberts said he is not at liberty to comment on the lawsuit, but did remark on the video. “I will say this: The laughter, substance and tone of several comments heard from my employees in that video were inappropriate, and do not conform to our professional standards. My office has already taken action. We conducted an internal investigation and took disciplinary action against the employees who still worked at the Sheriff’s Office,” Roberts said.
He added, “Compassionate treatment of those suffering from addiction and/or mental health issues is a cornerstone of our agency. Every day, in our jail and on the streets, our deputies encounter the hazards associated with drug addiction, and we have launched numerous initiatives to counter them — including our Residential Treatment program, CIT training, Behavioral Health Unit partnership, and counseling at the Transition Center and elsewhere. I expect our more than 500 employees to uphold the highest level of professionalism in their service.”
The lawsuit alleges that medical staff spoke with Mountsier for answers on what drugs Perry had taken and were told it was a combination of opioids, bath salts, and meth.
Reports indicate that deputies entered Perry’s cell around 8 p.m. to take his vitals, which were stable but that he was “clearly out of breath and breathing rapidly.”
Perry began suffering from intense involuntary movements, which his girlfriend was also experiencing, but she was taken to the hospital.
Nurse Camille Valberg came on duty around 10 p.m. Video shows her glancing at Perry through the bars of his cell but never entering or taking his vitals.
While the deputies did offer Perry an occasional drink of water, he was unable to take a drink when Valberg and three deputies finally reentered the cell at 11:16 p.m. When he did not respond to painful stimuli, CPR was started at 11:23 p.m.
Perry was pronounced dead 45 minutes later. An autopsy reported that Perry’s cause of death was methamphetamine toxicity.
Corizon Health, providers of jail and prison healthcare, have had six inmate deaths across the country that resulted from drug or alcohol overdoses.
