Woman sues Salt Lake County over ‘untimely death’ of her husband while in custody
NOTE: A lawsuit represents only one side of a story.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A woman is suing Salt Lake County and individuals associated with the county jail after her husband’s “untimely death,” according to a lawsuit filed with the Third District Court on March 1.
Amy Baker is listed in the lawsuit as the plaintiff, and she is the “surviving spouse” of a man named Leland Cropper, who reportedly died while in the Salt Lake County Metro Jail. Baker and Cropper had four children together, according to the suit.
The 11 defendants in the lawsuit include Salt Lake County (as a government entity), the County Sheriff, the medical director of the county’s jail system, five jail nurses, a caseworker, a program manager and deputy of the Salt Lake County Sheriff.
What does the lawsuit claim happened to Leland Cropper?
From March 3 to March 8, 2022, the lawsuit says Cropper was reporting “severe nausea, pain, and dehydration.” He reportedly suffered weight loss, had severe abdominal pain and was vomiting blood, according to the lawsuit.
On March 3, Cropper was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail and was assigned to the C-Pod, according to the lawsuit.
On that day, one of the defendants, a jail nurse, recorded Cropper’s weight, height and body mass index — 128 lbs., 6’2″ and 16.4, respectively — before scheduling a follow-up appointment for April 1 after making note of Cropper’s low BMI, the lawsuit alleges.
The Medical Director prescribed an antihistamine and anti-diarrhea medication to Cropper on the first day as well, the lawsuit says.
The next day, March 4, medical staff received the final reports for the bloodwork that was done during the examination, which the lawsuit says indicated that Cropper had “abnormal Neutrophils (75.3), Lymphocytes (16.8), and Glucose (180).”
On March 4, one of the jail nurses reportedly observed Cropper in his cell but did not check his weight or request additional treatment, the lawsuit says. Two more jail nurses observed Cropper in his cell and did not request additional treatment on March 5, according to the suit.
On March 6, the lawsuit says another nurse observed Cropper and reportedly did not check his weight or request further treatment.
On March 7, in the morning, a nurse reportedly gave Cropper a supplement drink and checked his weight — which was then 112.6 lbs., according to the lawsuit. The suit says that nurse still did not request more treatment.
On the afternoon of March 7, a nurse observed Cropper and did not check his weight or request additional treatment, according to the lawsuit.
The suit says on March 8, Cropper was dead.
How did Leland Cropper die, according to the lawsuit?
The lawsuit says, based on information from the Office of the Medical Examiner, Cropper “died from the effects of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to peptic ulcer disease.”
“Defendants failed and refused to monitor, evaluate, examine or treat Leland and refused to provide or arrange for a competent medical professional to monitor, evaluate, diagnose, examine, provide medical care for Leland,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit says a Deputy observed Cropper on the ground of his cell over the night of March 7. Cropper reportedly told the deputy he was vomiting in the toilet when asked why he was on the ground, but the deputy did not request medical assistance, the suit says.
A few hours later, the lawsuit says Cropper was again found on the ground, but partially underneath his bunk.
When deputies knocked on the door and didn’t get a response, they reportedly entered the cell and dragged Cropper out from underneath the bunk, after which the suit says Cropper was declared unresponsive.
Cropper was strapped onto a gurney and restrained, and the nurse who took his vitals reported no pulse, the suit says. Staff members attempted to revive Cropper with chest compressions and an AED, and Cropper vomited as nurses performed CPR, the suit says.
EMS crews arrived and attempted lifesaving measures but later declared Cropper was dead, the lawsuit says.
“Leland’s death would have been prevented if Defendants had called for qualified medical assistance or if the ADC medical staff had even provided basic diagnostic evaluation procedures,” the suit claims.
Officials conducted an examination of Cropper’s body on March 9, the day after he died, and said his eyes and cheeks were sunken, and also reportedly found evidence of dehydration and gastric ulcers to the stomach, among other issues, the lawsuit says.
Examiners reportedly diagnosed Cropper with “hepatic centrilobular congestion, multiple gastric ulcers, history of dark-colored hematemesis prior to his death, bloody stomach contents, dehydration, focal acute bronchiolitis, and underweight,” the lawsuit says.
Why is Leland Cropper’s wife suing Salt Lake County?
The lawsuit says the defendants “deprived Leland of his constitutional rights” as guaranteed by Article 1, Section 7 and Article 1, Section 9 of the Utah Constitution.
Article 1, Section 7 mentions the due process of law, and says no one shall be deprived of “life, liberty or property” without it, while Section 9 says, in part, “Persons arrested or imprisoned shall not be treated with unnecessary rigor.”
The lawsuit says the defendants failed to reasonably assess, monitor and treat Cropper, which subjected him to the aforementioned “unnecessary rigor.” The suit also says the defendants failed to provide “adequate or timely medical care.”
The lawsuit makes four claims for relief: Deprivation of Cropper’s rights under the Utah constitution, negligence, the Survival Act and the Wrongful Death Act, with the last two mentioning Constitutional and Common Law claims.
Cropper’s wife, Amy Baker, is suing for punitive damages against all defendants except Salt Lake County and reasonable attorney’s fees, in addition to general and non-economic damages, plus special and economic damages for several different situations.
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