CARMEL – The Putnam County Legislature has approved an undisclosed settlement with the mother of a young woman who hanged herself in a jail cell at the Putnam Correctional Facility in 2015 and died seven months later.
The lawmakers approved a resolution authorizing County Executive Kevin Byrne to sign the settlement documents.
Twenty-four Alexandra Grimaldi died after attempting suicide during acute heroin withdrawal.
Nancy Lara-Grimaldi filed a lawsuit seeking damages against the county and various municipal employees, alleging deliberate indifference to her daughter’s health and safety.
According to the legal brief, on October 27, 2015, Grimaldi was arrested for an alleged probation violation and was charged with that crime and with criminal possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a hypodermic needle. After being arraigned, she was taken to the Putnam Correctional Facility.
Records indicate in her intake proceeding at the jail, Grimaldi informed correctional staff that on the previous day she had injected two bundles of heroin and that she suffered from bipolar disorder, having attempted suicide four years earlier.
Jail staff recommended that Grimaldi be given “routine” supervision after a nurse steward conducted a medical evaluation that included a mental health evaluation which found Grimaldi to be within normal limits.
On the day of the attempted suicide, court papers revealed Grimaldi made two visits to the jail nursing station before being taken outside for a cigarette break, a visit to the television room and a trip to the jail’s library.
At 3:18 p.m. that day, a corrections officer found Grimaldi hanging by a bed sheet from the bars of her cell, having attempted to commit suicide.
Officers cut the sheet to get Grimaldi down, and – assisted by nurses – attempted to render CPR before paramedics arrived. After Grimaldi began trying to breathe and regained a pulse, she was taken to the hospital.
Remaining incapacitated, Grimaldi died on May 13, 2016.
In a lawsuit against the county, the Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, dismissing claims against the correction employees as well as a Monell claim against the county. The court concluded that no reasonable jury could find that the defendants knew or should have known that there was an excessive risk that Grimaldi would attempt suicide. The court also declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims.
On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the dismissal of the claims against the officers finding that the record did not support a finding of deliberate indifference on their part.
Attempts to reach former Putnam Sheriff Donald Smith, who was in charge of the jail at that time, were unsuccessful.
According to the settlement, Putnam is responsible for payment of its deductible pursuant to the county’s insurance policy with the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal.
The legislators felt the settlement was in the “public interest by avoiding further litigation, additional attorney’s fees and the risk of a high jury verdict.”
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