By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
Vallejo Times Herald
VALLEJO, Calif. -- A Napa State Hospital patient died Monday evening while being restrained by staff after he allegedly assaulted a fellow inmate, a Napa County Sheriff’s Department official said.
The death comes just two weeks after hospital workers held a protest demanding increased safety measures at the facility.
William Roebling, 47, was pronounced dead at the scene, despite resuscitative efforts, Napa County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Tracey Stuart said.
“A patient was involved in an altercation with another patient and when staff went to subdue him, he died,” Stuart said.
It is not yet known what caused the man’s death, she said. An autopsy is scheduled for today and witness interviews are under way, she added. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death, Stuart said.
Roebling died between 5 and 6 p.m. on one of the hospital’s secure wards.
Hospital spokeswoman Deborah Moore said officials there would have no comment other than to acknowledge that the patient died.
Roebling’s is the second death at Napa State Hospital in seven months.
In October, 54-year-old psychiatric technician Donna Gross of Concord was found strangled in an enclosed courtyard on hospital grounds. A patient, Jess Willard Massey, 37, was later arrested in connection with the killing.
Gross’ death triggered demands for security improvements at the hospital.
Employee unions have called for increased police presence and other measures. They complain that assaults on staff and patients are becoming increasingly common in recent years as the facility has become less a mental hospital and more a warehouse for dangerous criminals.
Assemblyman Michael Allen, (D-Santa Rosa,) chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on State Hospital Safety, recently organized a forum on the subject of Napa State Hospital’s safety concerns. He said too little is known about Monday’s death to comment on the specific case.
“We don’t yet know, for example, what the level of security was for the area where the incident took place, or whether additional security precautions could have prevented the initial action or changed the nature of the response,” he said.
“What do we know this is: For far too long, the conditions at Napa State Hospital have posed an ongoing threat to the health, safety and lives of workers and patients alike, a situation which must be changed now.”
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