How to protect those who can't protect themselves?

Late last week I received two very disturbing communications. I had already been thinking about the problems at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department and the jail, because I had reviewed my files of the David Maxson death, the Thomas Puchmelter suicide in the jail.

Maxson, for those who don't remember, is the man who was fatally injured in September 2006, only 43 minutes about deputies arrived on what I believe was a mental health call. The number of deputies in the small house escalated, in my opinion after reading the cookie-cutter reports, the situation to the point that Maxson charged a sergeant with a knife, and another deputy shot him with a beanbag shotgun to stop him. I have never faulted the deputy who shot when he did, but I faulted the handling of the entire call. And the way the Coroner's Inquest was handled.

In Puchmelter's case, vital information should have passed along from the evening shift in the jail to the night shift. Had the night shift known that Puchmelter had been served earlier in the day (in the jail) with an Order of Protection and that he hadn't gotten his full medication dosage at 9:00PM and had been locked down, they probably would have moved him to holding cell where closer observation could have been maintained.

And the Coroner's inquest in the Puchmelter death? Once again, no one with direct knowledge was there to testify. A detective-investigator was there, along with her boss. But no one with first-hand knowledge was there to answer questions asked by the jurors.

Then a 37-year-old Harvard man, Tommy O'Dell, died in the jail on April 26, after being taken there from a courtroom. Was he obviously ill or in some state of distress because of chemicals in his body? Did he need medical care, but was placed in a holding cell awaiting processing? Did booking guards take his health condition seriously?

When the Coroner's Inquest is held for O'Dell, will the jurors ask important questions and be able to get clear answers from people who know the answers? Will those who know the answers be at the inquest?

And a few days before that, I've learned that another inmate was left in a cell for an extended period of time in a state of health risk. When jail medical professionals note dangerous health conditions, do they have the authority to summon additional medical help or to direct hospitalization of an inmate? Or must they get approval of jail command staff first? What do they do, if jail command staff (sergeants and above) say something like, "Don't worry about it. He'll just sleep it off."

Jail personnel must have an obligation to safeguard the health of those in their care. What do they do, if their superiors refuse to provide medical care? Do they "rock the boat"? And risk their jobs?

Or do they hunker down and cross their fingers, hoping another death will not occur? At least, not on their shift...