Metro presents expanded report on Clark County Jail deaths following Sun investigation

From Ayden Runnels (Contact)

Wednesday, August 21, 2024 | 2 a.m.

An investigation by the Las Vegas Sun found that none of Clark County's five jails were in compliance with a state oversight law, forcing officials to update their accountability reporting methods.

This includes the Metro Police, which on Tuesday submitted its semi-annual report on deaths in custody to the Clark County Commission pursuant to Bill 301.

Before the April 7 Sun article, Metro was the only agency in Southern Nevada to release its reports, but the data lacked information required by law, such as the time and cause of inmate deaths.

The department took the first steps toward improving its reporting Tuesday, when Metro Deputy Chief Fred Haas provided updates on jail population, programs and deaths in custody. Haas thanked the Sun for its updated analysis of deaths in custody and said the April article alerted the department to the issue.

Metro Police in May denied The Sun's public records request containing the names and causes of death, saying that because of federal data collection law, “only aggregated data” could be released. Metro did not respond to multiple requests for comment, nor did it offer a comment on why the data could not be provided or why the department believed the federal law applied.

AB 301 passed unanimously in the Nevada legislature in 2019 to create a system of accountability for prisons — but until April, most government officials in Clark County had no idea about the law. Since then, three of the five prisons have released official reports. North Las Vegas and Mesquite police have not released reports, although both said in statements to the Sun that they would submit them to their city councils by July.

Since the passage of AB 301, the number of in-custody deaths in Clark County has doubled, from nine in 2019 to 18 in 2023.

The increase is almost entirely due to the Clark County Detention Center, the state's largest prison, which houses well over 50,000 inmates each year. Nearly 50 people have died at the detention center since 2019, according to data provided to the Sun by Metro.

In addition to the semi-annual reports, prison officials are also required to submit a notice to county commissions or city councils within 48 hours of each death in custody, which must include a brief description of the incident, the cause of death, and whether force was used in the incident.

In his presentation Tuesday, Haas briefly described the circumstances of six in-custody deaths that have occurred this year. Two of the deaths involved suspects who were arrested in absentia, meaning they never went to jail.

One died as a result of a car accident, the other died in a hospital. Both were arrested there after attacking a nurse and were never taken to prison.

A seventh death occurred this week after a woman in Metro custody died of natural causes, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Deaths in Metro's custody were higher simultaneously in both 2022 and 2023. The decline could become the first annual decline in deaths at the facility in nearly five years, although total bookings for 2024 are expected to exceed 60,000 for the first time since 2021.

None of the six deaths in 2024 were due to suicide, which is the leading unnatural cause of death among inmates, according to the Department of Justice. This is the second reporting period in a row without a recorded suicide, which Haas called a “huge success” for the prison.

Metro's 48-hour reports to commissioners also tell officials whether force was used in incidents, which is not a requirement of AB 301. While none of the reports explicitly mention the use of force against inmates, two reports – including one from March – are missing lines clarifying that no force was used.

The March death, in which words about use of force were omitted, was that of Ronald Stampley, 34. Haas said Tuesday that Stampley appeared agitated before officers led him from his cell and took him to a medical cell, where he later died.

Stampley's cause of death was not disclosed in the 48-hour report or Tuesday's presentation. Officials wrote they are still awaiting the medical examiner's report.

The semiannual reports presented at meetings are even more important because of how Metro drafts its communications to the county commission as they are. The 48-hour report form has a section specifically to state the cause of death, but all of the forms say the same thing: “Coroner's report pending.”

Haas' new descriptions represent Metro's most detailed account of the deaths; the agency does not issue news releases about in-custody deaths that are the result of suicide or medical incidents.

Reporting deficiencies in in-custody deaths is not a common practice in other parts of the state. The sheriff's offices in Washoe County and Carson City have submitted reports to their respective county commissions every two years, as required, since the law was passed.

The Carson City Sheriff submits his 48-hour reports – which include the cause of death – as part of his commission presentations, so they can be viewed without a records request, but this practice is not required by law.

Elsewhere in Southern Nevada, officials at the Henderson Detention Center and the Las Vegas Detention Center also submitted semi-annual reports to their city councils for the first time in May in response to The Sun's investigation.

Both departments filed reports listing not only the causes of death over the past six months, but also all in-custody deaths since the passage of AB 301, subsequently correcting their lack of reporting.

Since 2019, seven people have died at the Henderson City Jail, five of them by suicide, which the Justice Department says is the most common non-natural cause of death for offenders. At the Las Vegas Detention Center, 21 people have died since 2016, 13 of them after the implementation of AB 301, details of which the city released.

According to public records from various departments, at least 10 people have died in Southern Nevada prisons so far this year, including six at the Clark County Detention Center.

Despite Metro's mixed track record, Haas said the department is committed to transparency and wants to move forward with reports and improvements to the county's jail system. One of those initiatives, presented during the meeting, is the addition of social workers to the jail. The first employee has already started, and two more will begin work by the end of the month. They will specifically help offenders with housing or drug problems.

Commissioners expressed appreciation for the additional information in the presentation. Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft noted that he has asked for the data on deaths in custody in “almost every” quarterly report Metro submits to the commission.

“The summary you provided on deaths in custody is really helpful – and it provides transparency, but shows the bigger picture,” he said during the meeting. “It's really good to have it and hopefully it shows the community a willingness to be transparent.”

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