Man held in prison for minor traffic violation left comatose after prison guards block paramedics’ help
Man held in prison for minor traffic violation left comatose after prison guards block paramedics’ help
An inmate who was jailed for minor traffic violations in a St. Louis prison was blocked from receiving medical care by guards who refused to let paramedics take him to hospital.
Bernard Scott, 44, told prison guards at the Pine Lawn jail in St. Louis County, Missouri, that he had abdominal pain and bleeding.
But when paramedics arrived and said that they needed to take Scott to the emergency room, a jail supervisor refused to release him.
According to the newspaper, Scott changed into his street clothes to get in the ambulance when a jail supervisor turned him back at the last minute.
The medics from the Northeast Fire Protection District told jail staff that Scott had a painful mass in his abdomen and should be taken to hospital for treatment but the supervisor refused to sign off on it.
Scott was being held in lieu of $360 for minor traffic fines at the Pine Lawn jail in St. Louis County, Raw Story reports.
Paramedics wrote in a report – obtained by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch – that police advised that [patient] should be transferred to [the emergency department] for further medical attention.
Despite the medics attempting to convince the guard that Scott needed urgent care, it was to no avail.
Around 14 minutes after the paramedics left, Scott needed another ambulance because his condition had worsened, according to Raw Story.
A medical report stated that he ‘was unconscious and his posture indicated that he may have sustained brain damage.’
Police said that they found Scott hanging by his neck from a shoelace tied to his door — a claim Scott disputes.
Scott claims that he ‘doesn’t remember hanging himself and he said he was told by police he couldn’t leave unless he posted bond.
The last thing he remembers is making phone calls to try and secure bond money. He was in hospital for three weeks following the incident.
According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the incident, which took place last year, is just one in a series of problems in St. Louis jails where inmates have been denied treatment.
Last month, Michael Robinson, 33, died after family members say the type 1 diabetic was denied insulin in a Missouri jail. He was being held for owing child support.
The incidents have come to light after the well-publicized jail cell death of Sandra Bland.
Bland, a 28-year-old black woman committed suicide in her cell after she was stopped for failing to signal before changing lanes in Texas.
