By Brad Devereaux
mlive.com
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A supervisor has been granted immunity in a lawsuit over an inmate’s suicide at the Kalamazoo County Jail .
The Friday, April 10 , Sixth District U.S. Court of Appeals ruling reversed a lower court’s decision that said supervisor Lindsey O’Neil should not be granted immunity.
Chase Lovell’s mental-health struggles led him to try to take his life more than once, court records state.
He was brought to the Kalamazoo County Jail after allegedly starting a fire at a psychiatric hospital during one such attempt.
In jail, he was left alone with bedding that he used to kill himself on Dec. 17, 2020 , according to documents in a lawsuit filed by his father.
At the time of the death, O’Neil oversaw the jail’s mental health unit as an employee of Integrated Services of Kalamazoo (ISK), the lawsuit states.
O’Neil originally ordered that Lovell stay in a padded cell and wear a suicide-prevention gown, according to the lawsuit.
Later, she could tell the padded cell and gown were causing him mental distress, the lawsuit states, so she allegedly moved him to a less isolated cell and issued him a regular jumpsuit.
To reduce the risk of suicide, she determined Lovell would have a suicide-prevention blanket instead of regular bedding.
“Unfortunately, jail staff still gave Lovell regular bedding as a result of some type of miscommunication,” the lawsuit states.
Lovell used a sheet to commit suicide. He was 29.
The system “failed”
“He should still be here,” Chase’s sister, Rachel Lovell , posted on Facebook following his death.
Mental health and mental illness lack funding and awareness, she said.
“So many have been failed by the system,” she posted. “My brother was FAILED!”
The lawsuit, filed by his father, David Lovell , on behalf of his son’s estate, alleged O’Neil, as well as five corrections officers, ISK and Kalamazoo County , were at fault.
The lower court previously granted summary judgement for all of the defendants except O’Neil, ruling in their favor, documents state.
The panel of three judges issued the latest opinion, written by Circuit Court Judge Eric Murphy .
“In retrospect, should O’Neil have taken more precautions? Perhaps so,” the opinion states.
But, the order states, qualified immunity exists to insulate state officials from “damages” liability when their conduct falls within “gray areas” of the law.
“At most, O’Neil’s conduct fell within such a gray area here,” the order states. “We thus reverse the district court’s denial of qualified immunity...”
James E. Tamm is currently lead counsel for ISK and O’Neil.
“We are thankful that the Sixth Circuit reached the correct conclusion,” Tamm said. “While my clients are saddened that Mr. Lovell took his own life, it was not the result of any wrongdoing by ISK or Ms. O’Neil.”
The decision corrected an error by the lower court, Tamm said.
The case was remanded to the lower court to proceed.
Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Michelle Greenlee declined to comment, due to the legal proceedings.
The lawsuit was filed in June 2022 and District Court Judge Jane M. Beckering earlier ruled other defendants had immunity, but that O’Neil did not.
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