A prison nurse attends a prisoner’s suicide trial

LEXINGTON On Wednesday, the second day of a civil trial, conflicting testimony emerged regarding allegations that Boyd County Detention Center staff ignored orders from medical staff to place an inmate on suicide watch hours before his body was hung in his cell.

All three defendants, Zachary Hunter, Tracie Payne and Tim Rucker, were called as witnesses during the presentation of the plaintiff’s case, and each denied that former prison nurse Susan Scott recommended that 37-year-old Derrick Bryant be placed under special surveillance after exhibiting disturbing behavior during nine-day imprisonment in March 2021.

Scott testified to the contrary, maintaining that with her 30 years of nursing experience, she “knew there was something going on with him mentally” and repeatedly advised Rucker, the shift sergeant at the time, to place Bryant on suicide watch, which could have put him on a cell without objects that could be used for self-harm.

Scott said that while the doctor had the final decision on such a placement, it was up to deputies – including Payne and Hunter – to physically carry out the transfer of Bryant from the Covid-19 isolation ward to a suicide watch center, where he would be monitored every 15 minutes, rather than to typical 60-minute checks.

In light of the prison’s existing suicide prevention policy, Scott was asked whether prison staff could deviate from her guidelines, to which she testified, “I don’t think so, but it happened.”

Scott also testified that deputies alleged inaction leading to Bryant’s suicide “wouldn’t be the first time they disregarded medical advice.”

During cross-examination, Olivia Amlung, the defense attorney, pointed out Scott’s entry in Bryant’s health record, which showed that despite her recommendation, Bryant was returned to his cell and not placed on suicide watch.

According to Amlung and accompanying exhibits, this last entry was documented only an hour after Bryant’s suicide.

In fact, the late memo was the only document that suggested this, despite the rigorous documentation required by medical staff when placing an inmate on suicide prevention measures.

Scott stated that charting after interactions with patients was common practice and that supervisors who employed a contracted health service at the prison instructed her to make a note that her orders were ignored.

However, Amlung suggested otherwise, pointing out that Scott was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

“Did you add the 7pm note to protect yourself from being sued?” Amlung asked, to which Scott replied “absolutely not.”

In an attempt to corroborate Scott’s testimony, Sebastian Joy, a lawyer representing Bryant’s estate in the lawsuit, called as a witness Ashley Murphy, a former prison employee who testified that she overheard Scott’s advice to Sgt. Rucker, Payne and Hunter.

According to Murphy, who previously worked for a prison catering company, she herself heard this order from Scott twice.

In an interview with Amlung, the attorney pointed out that Murphy allegedly overheard Scott’s order while standing 20 feet away, with her back turned and wearing a pandemic-era mask.

Amlung asked whether Murphy would have any reason to testify against the defendants in this case, to which the answer was in the negative.

During Amlung’s examination, Murphy confirmed that she was Payne’s ex-girlfriend and had had disagreements with Sgt. Rucker missed a tray of food and was reported to her employer by prison guard Bill Hensley for unauthorized use of the Internet in the kitchen.

Murphy stated that she held no grudge against anyone in prison, and Joy later produced a written statement Murphy gave to the lieutenant three days after Bryant’s death in which she claimed to have heard Scott’s directives, which the lawsuit claims were ultimately ignored.

In addition to the testimony, the plaintiff also presented surveillance footage of Bryant attaching a prison-issued sheet to a shelf attached to the wall of his cell, wrapping the sheet around his neck, and then hanging himself – a process that took approximately eight minutes from start to finish.

Joy focused on the time stamp of surveillance video showing Bryant’s actions beginning 10 minutes before the shift change, suggesting that despite Hunter’s alleged ability to view live camera feeds while stationed in the central control room, he had no desire to intervene sooner. go home for the day.

The same was implied during the plaintiff’s opening statements, in which he argued that the defendants did not view Bryant’s life as “worth saving.”

On Wednesday, Payne testified that she was hurt by the statement, adding that before starting her career in prison, she worked as a paramedic for decades.

“It was heartbreaking,” Payne said with emotion. “I literally dedicated my life to helping other people.”

“I know they’re inmates, but I don’t look at them any differently,” Payne testified, calling the inmates “my girls,” describing helping some achieve sobriety and even helping them fill out college applications.

“They have the utmost respect for me because I have the utmost respect for them, so to hear that I don’t care really hurts.”

Testimony will resume Thursday and will include a defense presentation.

The jury was tasked with determining whether jail officials at the time disregarded procedures and acted recklessly in disregard of Bryant’s medical and psychological needs.

If so, a jury could award Bryant’s estate monetary awards for lost wages, pain and suffering and punitive damages.