By C1 Staff
SIERRA COUNTY, NM — A new lawsuit accusing the Sierra County Detention Center claims that an inmate placed in solitary confinement lost 22 pounds over the course of 18 days as a result of the conditions.
KOB reports that Matt Faziani was in jail after running a rental car into a pole and then filing a false police report.
The lawsuit claims that once staff discovered that Faziani is bipolar, they pushed him into solitary confinement so they wouldn’t have to deal with his mental illness.
During the period of time he was in solitary, Faziani’s cell “became foul smelling and dirty;” it became so filthy that another inmate was allegedly ordered to clean it.
The lawsuit also claims that the jail overmedicated Faziani by giving him narcotics like oxycodone and hydrocodone four times a day.
Officials with the jail say they recognized the jail had problems back in 2012, but that reform is underway. They now are under the operation of the Sheriff’s Office.
New rules and policies are in place regarding solitary confinement, according to Lt. Glenn Hamilton. Even so, he knows that mistakes of the past could hurt the jail’s future.
“I can tell you any lawsuit with any small agency is going to hurt us there. If we have to pay out a lawsuit, that’s less money for operating costs down the road,” he said.