BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The Boulder County Sheriff's Office reached a settlement with a man who gouged his own eyes out while he was housed at the county jail in 2016, according to the man's attorney.
Ryan Partridge, a former inmate at the Boulder County jail, settled the federal civil rights lawsuit against former Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle and the county for a total of $2.55 million. The sheriff's office confirmed the settlement and said in a statement that they did not believe any staff members were at fault or violated any laws.
According to his attorney, David Lane, Partridge experienced severe mental illness for years and was experiencing homelessness when he was arrested for an assault in September 2016. His attorney said that while behind bars, he attempted suicide on multiple occasions. In one attempt, according to the suit, Partridge climbed up to a second-floor tier at the jail and jumped head-first to the ground below.
He survived but had several broken vertebrae. About a month later, the lawsuit says, Partridge tried to jump from that same area but was "talked down" by guards.
“He was escalating all the time and guards would subdue him by the use of force and they would taser him and put him in a restraint chair," Lane said.
The lawsuit filed on his behalf in December 2017, alleges that Partridge was "actively psychotic" and nothing was done to treat him for the psychosis.
According to the suit, staff never sought a court order, which would have allowed them to administer anti-psychotic medication.
"Boulder did nothing," Lane said. "And one day, guards walked past his cell, they saw his eyes were massively swollen so they went in and looked. He had literally plucked his eyes out of his head."
The sheriff's office said as part of its statement that at the time of the incident, Partridge was under a court order to receive mental health services at the state mental hospital in Pueblo. The agency said that while he was in custody, employees "repeatedly" tried to get him into a facility that could provide him with a higher level of mental health treatment than available in a jail setting. Despite those efforts, the sheriff's office said, Partridge remained in the jail.
The civil rights lawsuit resulted in two settlements totaling more than $2 million. One settlement, for $325,000, was related to alleged excessive force that was used on Partridge. His attorneys released video of one alleged incident of excessive force. In it, numerous sheriff's office employees are seen struggling with Partridge, who is naked.
In the video, he appears he's taken to the ground, but the struggle happens behind a partial wall, so it's impossible to see what's happening.
The other settlement was related to the alleged disregard of Partridge's mental health needs.
Lane said the settlement funds will help to cover the costs of Partridge's care in the years to come, but he said he hopes the figure also sends a message.
“We like to see that this word gets out far and wide so other jailers and other politicians that are treating inmates like animals instead of like human beings see that if you do this, it’s going to cost taxpayers millions of dollars and hopefully the taxpayers don’t put up with it," Lane said.
> The video below is surveillance footage showing the excessive force incident:
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office said the settlement would be paid through funds from their insurance carrier. Their full statement is below.
The Boulder County Sheriff, using funds from the county’s insurance carrier, reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by former Boulder County Jail inmate Ryan Partridge. The Sheriff does not believe any of the staff involved in the incident were at fault or violated the law. Nonetheless, it is our hope that the settlement will provide some closure for Mr. Partridge, his family, and the Sheriff’s Office employees who were impacted by the tragic events in which Mr. Partridge harmed himself during a mental health crisis he experienced in the jail.
The events in this case occurred in 2016, and are an example of the ongoing struggles faced by both jail inmates with severe mental illness and the staff who must care for often extremely violent and unpredictable inmates within the limits imposed by state law. The Jail employs a highly qualified medical team that provides medical and mental health treatment to inmates, and it has protocols aimed at preventing at-risk inmates from causing self-harm. However, the jail cannot offer the same level or scope of treatment as a hospital. Under state law, jail medical staff are prohibited from involuntarily administering psychotropic medications to inmates who have been prescribed, but decide to discontinue, these medications, even when such inmates are experiencing extreme symptoms. This leaves jails dependent on the state hospital to admit inmates who need a higher level of long-term care than the jail can provide.
At the time of Mr. Partridge’s injury, he was under a court order to receive mental health services at the state hospital in Pueblo. While Mr. Partridge was in the jail’s custody, Sheriff’s Office employees repeatedly tried to get him into a facility that could provide him a higher level of mental health treatment than available in a jail setting. Despite those efforts, Mr. Partridge remained in the jail.
Boulder County and the Sheriff’s Office continue to explore and implement methods to better assist mentally ill inmates in the face of persistent, lengthy wait times at the state hospital. The Boulder County Jail now hosts the RISE Program, a jail-based competency restoration program created in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services. Boulder County also advocated for Senate Bill 18-263, which would have created a pilot program to allow for court approval of treatment medications to be administered in the jail, but the bill failed. Boulder County will continue to advocate for a better state system for mental health treatment, including reducing wait times.
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