Records detail discipline after inmate’s death

Penalties against four Spokane County Jail deputies who allowed an inmate’s death to go undetected for eight hours range from dismissal to a reprimand.

Workplace charges in the Nov. 11 death of Fredrick James Juhnke were filed in February and March. Video surveillance and interviews revealed that Kenneth Downey, Lloyd Nolan, David Hatton and Jeff Way failed to make required half-hourly checks on inmates’ welfare, but there was no allegation that they caused or could have prevented Juhnke’s death.

An autopsy showed Juhnke, 58, died of a ruptured aortal aneurism – a burst artery.

Documents obtained by The Spokesman-Review under the state Public Records Act indicate Nolan previously had been reprimanded for verbal abuse and harassment.

Read the rest of John Craig’s story here .

June 9: Jailer who failed to discover inmate death fights firing