Bexar County, University Health responds to death at county jail

Bexar County officials are searching for solutions after two jail inmates died within 24 hours of one another last month. Duane Ventimiglia, 40, was pronounced dead on April 18 when he was found unresponsive in his cell. The sheriff’s office released a statement shortly after saying it appeared Ventimiglia had “succumbed to medical complications associated with a history of substance abuse.

San Antonio woman sentenced to 18 years for death of toddler in her care The recent deaths led county jail officials to initiate a new policy requiring all incoming inmates who are diabetic and insulin-dependent to undergo a medical evaluation and receive clearance from a medical physician before being accepted into the jail. Those experiencing withdrawal symptoms from alcohol or benzodiazepine, a class of drugs used to treat depression, also will need clearance.

Amid police officer shortage, local law enforcement agencies find unique ways to recruit Deaths at the Bexar County jail have led to lawsuits in previous years with varying outcomes. The family of Janice Dotson-Stephens sued the county and University Health when Dotson-Stephens died after losing 136 pounds while in jail. Dotson-Stephens, who had a history of mental illness, was arrested in July 2018 on a misdemeanor trespassing charge and held in the jail on $300 bail.

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