By C1 Staff
LEWIS COUNTY, Wash. — Two unrelated cases have former inmates suing Lewis County Jail correctional officers, claiming that their civil rights were violated.
The Chronicle reports that Sheriff Rob Snaza supports both officers despite the accusations. He says the accusations are without merit.
“We’ve got great people over there that make decisions every day, and I have full faith in our officers,” he said. “… I’ll stand behind them all the way.”
Officers Jack Haskins and Amber Wilson are still working, and no internal investigation has been conducted.
Kevon L. Tracy claims in his suit against Haskins that he was placed in administrative segregation on Aug. 22, 2014 and was left there without phone or visitation privileges for 67 days. Tracy claims the officers were concerned that he would have another inmate contact the person he was accused of victimizing.
Tracy was previously accused of sending his former girlfriend a postcard from jail, threatening to kill her dog if she didn’t give him money for snacks. He was serving time for violating a protection order.
He claims to have experienced mental stress after being denied human contact. He filed a grievance about the incident in Oct. 2014, and had it approved. He is seeking $6,700.
Charles Aalmo claims Wilson, the county and medical employees did not provide him with proper medical attention for a dental issue between Aug. and Sept. of last year.
He claimed his mouth would not stop bleeding, and that he was afraid he would have a heart attack from the pain and bleeding.
In Sept., Aalmo had a wisdom tooth removed and stitches were placed in his mouth. He claims he wasn’t given ibuprofen for hours and says his stitches ripped out. He hit his emergency button because he was “pouring blood” and felt dizzy, but no one responded to him for hours.
When a nurse did arrive, he claims they said, “Wow, your [sic] still alive.”
He claims that a doctor profiled him for being an inmate and refused him muscle relaxers for his back and leg injury which occurred before his arrest.
Aalmo was serving time after terrorizing his neighborhood by wearing a caged baseball mask and beating on buildings with a baseball bat while looking for his wife, with whom he’d earlier had an argument about an undisclosed topic. Aalmo was already wanted for probation violations.
Aalmo said he wants the courts to investigate jail policies and change them, though he did not specify which ones. He is seeking $1.5 million in compensation.