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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

FBI joins jail death probe


Sichiro
 (The Spokesman-Review)

The FBI is investigating last month’s death of a Spokane County jail inmate now that autopsy results suggest the fatal injuries were suffered during a fight with corrections officers.

Benites Saimon Sichiro, 39, was booked into the jail Jan. 29 on several misdemeanor warrants and died of a lacerated liver caused by blunt force to his torso, according to Medical Examiner Sally Aiken’s autopsy.

The exact cause of the injury remains under investigation, but authorities said Sichiro fought with corrections officers, and officers struck him with their knees and jolted him with Taser shocks. The medical examiner doubted the Taser jolts caused the fatal injuries.

“Sichiro bled out very fast,” said Cpl. Dave Reagan, a spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. “Now the challenge is to figure out what caused the trauma.”

Detectives with the Spokane Police Department and Washington State Patrol already were assisting the Sheriff’s Office in the investigation. The FBI was called in because it frequently investigates deaths of crime suspects in police custody.

Sichiro’s family was unavailable for comment.

Spokane police arrested Sichiro Jan. 27 on warrants for criminal trespass, obstruction of justice and fourth-degree assault, all misdemeanors, Spokane police Lt. Dean Sprague said. When Sichiro was taken into custody, it was apparent he had been in a fight.

Extensive photographs were taken of his existing injuries, and he was medically cleared before being booked into Spokane County Jail, officials said. Aiken used the police photographs to compare Sichiro’s previous injuries with those inflicted during three fights with corrections deputies.

Sichiro began exhibiting signs of withdrawing from alcohol, such as shaking and hallucinating, on the following Sunday, Sheriff Mark Sterk said. The jail nurse noticed this and asked that the man be moved to a cell closer to the nurse’s station so he could be monitored.

Sichiro resisted, and the first fight with deputies ensued.

A Taser was used to control Sichiro so he could be placed into handcuffs and removed from the cell, Reagan said. Sichiro was then carried to the next cell. Deputies placed him beneath the bunk so they could safely exit, a standard maneuver.

The nurse and deputies attempted a second assessment of Sichiro’s medical condition a short time later, Reagan said. Sichiro again began fighting with deputies and attempted to bite one of them. The deputy used two knee strikes to Sichiro’s torso to distract the inmate long enough for him to remove his hand and arm from the area of the man’s mouth.

Deputies put the inmate beneath the bunk again to give them time to get out of the cell, Reagan said. Within minutes Sichiro climbed up onto a desk. Fearing he would dive off the desk and injure himself, the nurse again called jail deputies and asked that they place him in a restraint chair.

The attempt led to another violent fight, Reagan said. However, deputies were able to handcuff Sichiro by using the Taser but could not restrain his feet. The deputies then attempted to place him into a restraint chair, but Sichiro constantly kicked at them to prevent his ankles from being restrained. A Taser again was applied to stop him from kicking.

“Everything we were doing was out of concern and safety for the inmate,” Sterk said.

The inmate had placed books and magazines inside his clothing, and that may have played a role in the Taser being ineffective at times, Reagan said. Sichiro was placed in the restraint chair but went unconscious. The inmate was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery and later died.

“It’s a tough situation. If we don’t move him to a cell to better monitor him, we’re at fault,” Reagan said. “If we do and he gets hurt, we’re at fault.”

Eight corrections deputies were involved in the scuffles with Sichiro. Their names are: Steve Long, Ted Tofsrud, Todd Belitz, Wayne Mauer, David Hatton, John Elam, Tim Christopherson and Michael Vanatta.

The deputies were initially placed on paid administrative leave but have since resumed their duties, Sterk said. “There’s no evidence to show they did anything wrong. They did not seek Sichiro out for a fight. It appears as if the corrections officers used the appropriate continuum of force. If further investigation reveals differently, they will be placed on leave until the investigation is complete.”