Questions persist about death at county jail

There are two versions of the final days of Gail Kindness' life.

Several Yakima County jail inmates who shared a cell with the 41-year-old woman say she showed signs of medical problems from the time she was booked and had repeatedly sought help.

The jail's director, however, insists she showed no indications of problems and never asked for treatment.

This much is known: Two days after being placed in jail, Kindness was rushed to Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, where she was declared dead.

Jail officials waited five days before notifying the public of her death.

Department of Corrections Director Steve Robertson blames the delay on a staffing shortage, and cautions about placing too much credibility on the words of inmates.

"You get told stuff, but that doesn't mean that it's true," he said. "I need the investigation and the inmates' statements before I can comment any further (on the specifics of the case)."

Yakima police brought Gail Kindness to the county jail the night of Aug. 14.

Kindness, the daughter of Yakama General Council Vice Chairwoman Mavis Kindness, had long struggled with heroin addiction, and like many addicts had a history of arrests, including theft, domestic violence, drugs and perjury, and was facing prostitution charges the night she was jailed.

She also, according to family members, suffered from heart problems.

As part of the booking process, she went through a medical screening. There are forms inmates can fill out to request medical attention.

"I have no record that she was assertive and did that," Robertson said. "She'd been in jail before and knew how everything worked."

After booking, she was taken to a dormatory-style jail cell on the second floor.

Among the 19 inmates in the cell was Ida Charley, a 30-year-old state-certified emergency medical technician being held for burglary and assault charges.

In a jailhouse interview, Charley said Kindness repeatedly told jailers she was out of her heart medication and was withdrawing from heroin.

"Every time medical came by, she was asking for the doctor," said Charley.

The day after being booked, she was having trouble getting up from her bunk and didn't go to a scheduled court hearing and refused to see a visitor, Charley said.

Other inmates also say Kindness sought medical help. Inmate Toni Conatser said she heard Kindness ask guards for medical attention at least six times in two days.

Tricia Johnley, a 33-year-old inmate who is being held on forgery and identity theft charges, said she too heard Kindness repeatedly asked guards if she could see a doctor.

When corrections officers tried to take Kindness to the jail's clinic, she said she couldn't get up, Charley said.

Jailers interpreted that as refusing medical attention, Charley said.

"We were like (telling corrections officers), 'She's not refusing, she's sick and needs someone to help her up,'" said Conatser, 22, who is being held on theft and malicious mischief charges.

But inmates say they were most alarmed the night of Aug. 16. Charley said Kindness gasped loudly for air then fell from her bunk early that evening.

Conatser said she immediately pressed the emergency alarm as other inmates yelled that Kindness was suffering a seizure.

A corrections officer and a nurse responded, but Charley said she had trouble persuading the nurse to pull Kindness from between the two bunks where she had fallen.

"Not one officer checked her pulse or checked to see if she was breathing," Johnley said.

Finally, Charley said she pulled Kindness out, and that her lips and face appeared purple.

"The nurse was astonished when she saw her face," said Charley, adding the nurse left saying she needed to get oxygen.

Despite the officer telling her to wait until the nurse returned, Charley said she began CPR on Kindness, who was unresponsive.

"I'm thinking in my head, these officers should know this," Charley said.

Conatser said she then turned on the blood pressure monitor and clipped the pulse reader on Kindness' finger. There was no pulse, she said.

As Charley worked on Kindness, the officer had put the other inmates in another cell, Charley said.

Moments later, two other officers came and took over CPR and Charley said she also was put in the other cell with the rest of the inmates.

Shortly afterward, Kindness was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

"I don't think the medical staff was doing their job right that night," Conatser said. "I mean, her face was purple and when the nurse saw that, she just freaked and turned around and ran out."

Pending a review of all reports and statements, Robertson wouldn't provide the names of the jailer and nurse.

It's not the first time allegations of poor medical care have arisen at the jail. A report commissioned by the National Institute of Corrections at the county's request two years ago found that inmates had to wait too long to see a doctor and weren't screened for medical problems when they arrived.

But those problems were corrected in July 2006, when a new medical provider was brought in, jail officials said.

And a review conducted in January last year by the same consultant said the jail had made significant improvements since the first report was published.

Now, Kindness' mother is awaiting a cause of death from the Yakima County Coroner's Office and said she may file a lawsuit against the county.

"We want to stop this from happening to other people," said Mavis Kindness, who has served on the Yakama General Council since January 2006. "We need to do something. We can't continue to have this happen at the jail."

County Coroner Maury Rice said he's still awaiting a toxicology report on Kindness' death before completing her death certificate. He said she may have died of a heart attack that most likely was induced by withdrawal from some type of illegal drug.

Mavis Kindness was informed of her daughter's death the evening she died. But authorities didn't make Kindness' death public until five days later.

Robertson first told the Yakima Herald-Republic that the delay was due to a staffing shortage. But last week he said it was because he wanted to make sure information was accurate before releasing it.

"We're slow and thorough -- that's all," he said.

Robertson said that the nurse's initial response time was good, around two minutes, and that Kindness' death was not the fault of the jail.

"If this would have happened out somewhere in the streets, she wouldn't have been around anyone," he said. "Her having this medical accident here was actually a blessing."

He said the jail's medical service has greatly improved since getting the bad report, but that doesn't stop people from coming in sick.

"The odds are that we are going to have another one this year," he said. "People come in sick all the time.

"I did not create the event. Yakima County did not create the event."

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.