Missouri State Highway Patrol General Report Incident #180687789 ORIGINAL REPORT - INITIAL REPORT DATE OF REPORT - 11/14/2018 1. On Wednesday, November 14, 2018, I was assigned a special investigation at the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office in Farmington, Missouri. The request came from St. Francois County Sheriff Daniel Bullock. Sheriff Bullock requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Division of Drug and Crime Control investigate the death of , who died inside a holding cell at the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office during the early morning hours on Sunday, November 11, 2018. 2. A copy of the letter from Sheriff Bullock requesting the investigation is attached to this report. Also attached is a letter from Missouri State Highway Patrol Acting Superintendent Eric Olson, approving the investigation. 3. This is an ongoing investigation. D. B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Copy of Letter of Request Copy of Approval Letter Page 1 of 1 Attachments: Booking Rosters ' Inmate File Video Log from Smith Four (4) Videos Page 3 of 3 during the drive, he tried to get to tell him what was in the bottle. Deputy Ratliff said was speaking very softly and said it was either heroin or meth. 7. Once they arrived at the St. Francois County Jail, Deputy Ratliff began the booking procedure. On the intake form, was asked if he took any drugs or was coming down from any drug high. replied that he had not taken anything and shouldn’t be coming down from anything. 8. Deputy Ratliff said he released to the booking staff and left the jail facility. He took the green pill bottle and flushed the residue down the toilet and placed the bottle in the trash dumpster. One or two days after the original arrest, Deputy Ratliff said he was at the jail and heard someone in holding cell R3 “going berserk and talking to people out of his head.” He was told it was and attempted to talk to him because they had a decent rapport. Deputy Ratliff said was belligerent and cursing at him. 9. Deputy Ratliff said he did not write a report for the arrest of . This interview was recorded with my Patrol issued Olympus digital voice recorder. A copy of the interview was labeled, “Interview of Byron Ratliff” and placed in the attachments folder on the Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive for this case. 10. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Deputy Ratliff Page 2 of 2 Missouri State Highway Patrol Supplemental Report Incident #180687789 SUPPLEMENT #4 - INTERVIEW OF DEPUTY ALICIA HODGE DATE OF REPORT - 11/19/2018 1. On Monday, November 19, 2018, at approximately 1024 hours, I interviewed St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Alicia Hodge at the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office. This interview was concerning the death of inmate . Details of the interview can be found in the following narrative. 2. Deputy Alicia A. Hodge is employed full-time as a jail deputy by the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office. She is assigned to the day shift from 0700 hours to 1500 hours. The sheriff’s office is located at 1550 Doubet Road, Farmington, Missouri 63640, telephone number 573-4312777. 3. During the interview, Deputy Hodge said was arrested and brought to the Sheriff’s Office on her day off. She came into work early on Saturday, November 10, 2018, and the night shift had placed in the restraint chair before she arrived. When Deputy Hodge went into the jail, was secured in the restraint chair inside booking cell R-3, screaming. Deputy Hodge was told by the night shift deputies that started “freaking out, out of nowhere and said something about beating someone up.” The night shift deputies placed in the restraint chair for safekeeping of himself and the other inmates. 4. When Deputy Hodge reported for work, she completed a computerized log entry for the night shift because they did not know how. The log stated, “ was put in the chair on Sat Nov 10 01:38:24 2018 he started freaking out in R6. He was talking about fighting other inmates. He was making claims that there was a female around that wasn’t. is apparently seeing things and not in his right state of mind. For his safety he was placed in R3. He is continuing to have conversation with himself and talking to the girl that is not here.” 5. I asked Deputy Hodge how they dealt with during her shift on Saturday. She said they continued to check on him and tried to talk to him with no avail. kept screaming, “Don’t let them do that to her she’s too good, don’t let them do that.” She said he was saying things that were “off the wall” and did not mean anything to them. Deputy Hodge said they tried to feed breakfast and lunch, and she remembered he took some drinks but could not remember if he ate. I asked if they hand fed him or if he was released from the chair. She said sometimes they will release one of the inmate’s hands, but she was not sure what was done for . Deputy Hodge said she did not enter the cell and try to feed . 6. I asked if they maintained any documentation of being in the restraint chair. She said she believes there was a handwritten log, but she was not for certain. Deputy Hodge said if a log was completed, it should be in his inmate file. I asked if there were policy or procedures for placing an inmate in the restraint chair. She said to go in the restraint chair, an inmate states that he is going to harm himself or others. I asked what happens after an inmate goes into the chair Page 1 of 2 and she replied that they check on them. Deputy Hodge said there was no policy or procedure saying when or how often they need to check on them. I asked if there were any policies about the restraint chair and she said, “not that I am aware of.” 7. I asked Deputy Hodge if they place people in the restraint chair because they are a threat to themselves or others, do they seek any additional help for the person. She said they contact BJC caseworker Jennifer Beard if they need her to speak to someone. Deputy Hodge said she was not sure if anyone contacted Beard to check on . 8. At the conclusion of Deputy Hodge’s shift, she composed an email and sent it to the jail staff. The email stated, “ has been in the chair since night shift. He has continued to talk to people that is not there. He said he will kill himself either today or tomorrow. He will not STOP screaming and freaking out. I’m assuming he had drugs on him and took them because he has been here for a few days and was fine, all this is coming out of nowhere. We have tried talking to him and it’s doing no good. So just keep an eye on him.” 9. This interview was recorded with my Patrol issued Olympus digital voice recorder. After the interview was complete, Deputy Hodge gave me a copy of the email she sent at the end of her shift and a copy of the log entry she wrote. The two documents were labeled, “Hodge Email” and the audio recording was labeled “Interview of Alicia Hodge.” Copies were placed in the attachments folder on the Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive for this case. 10. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Hodge's E-mail Audio Interview of Alicia Hodge Page 2 of 2 Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Page 2 of 2 6. On Saturday night (November 10) had gotten very quiet. She said the chair started moving and she didn’t know if he was scooting the chair or if he was having a seizure. said she heard a “wet snore come out and that was the end of it.” I asked if she knew he was dead, and she replied that she didn’t know until she heard the Automated External Defibulator (AED). I asked if she saw any jail staff members use any force like a Taser or mace against him. said she didn’t see any force used and didn’t smell or taste any mace. 7. This interview was recorded with my Patrol issued Olympus digital voice recorder. A copy of the interview was labeled, “Interview of ”, and will be placed in the attachments folder on the Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive for this case. 8. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Page 2 of 2 Missouri State Highway Patrol Supplemental Report Incident #180687789 SUPPLEMENT 8 - RECEIPT OF EMS REPORTS DATE OF REPORT - 11/26/2018 1. On Monday, November 26, 2018, I received copies of reports from the St. Francois County Ambulance District and the Farmington Fire Department concerning their response to the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, November 11, 2018. Details can be found in the following narrative. 2. On Monday, November 26, 2018, I contacted Heather L. Merritt, Office Manager at the St. Francois County Ambulance District. I requested a copy of the ambulance report for at the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office. While reviewing the report, I found the ambulance district received the call on Sunday, November 11, 2018, at 0211 hours. They were dispatched at 0212 hours, and arrived at 0219 hours. Amanda M. Caldwell was the lead EMTParamedic and Joseph A. Johnson was the driver, EMT-Basic. When Caldwell and Johnson were dispatched, they were told had a possible extended downtime and the coroner has already been contacted. After they arrived, they found did not have a pulse and was not breathing. They placed on the monitor and found he was Asystole at 0222 hours. They stopped lifesaving procedures. 3. On Monday, November 26, 2018, I contacted Mark A. Mattina, Fire Captain for the City of Farmington. I requested a copy of the fire department’s report for at the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office. While reviewing the report, I found the Farmington Fire Department was dispatched to the St. Francois County Jail on Sunday, November 11, 2018, at 0212 hours, and arrived at 0220 hours. When the fire department arrived, they were told by the ambulance district they were not needed. The fire department returned to service and did not provide any assistance. Grant A. Chitwood, FFE, and Kyle R. Carter, EMT, and Adonis Montgomery, FF, responded to the call. 4. A copy of the reports from the St. Francois County Ambulance District was labeled, “ EMS Report”, and the Farmington Fire Department report was labeled, “Farmington Fire Report.” They were placed in the attachments folder on the Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive for this case. 5. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Farmington Fire Report EMS Report Page 1 of 1 Missouri State Highway Patrol Supplemental Report Incident #180687789 SUPPLEMENT #10 - REVIEW OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS DATE OF REPORT - 12/03/2018 1. On Monday, December 3, 2018, I reviewed surveillance camera footage from the St. Francois County Sheriff's Office to determine the movements of before his death. Details can be found in the following narrative. 2. On Thursday, November 28, 2018, Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal D. Reed, with the Division of Drug/Crime Control, obtained an external hard drive from St. Francois County Chief Deputy G. Armstrong. The hard drive contained surveillance footage of each jail cell was placed in, along with several camera views of the booking area and the sally port. Corporal Reed transferred the footage from the external hard drive to a 64G flash drive. By reviewing the videos, I tracked movements from the time he arrived at the jail, on Thursday, November 8, 2018, at 1651 hours, until his death on Saturday, November 11, 2018, at approximately 0234 hours. It should be noted; the surveillance video time is approximately 53 minutes ahead of real time. The times noted in this report are the times from the surveillance video and haven't been adjusted. 3. The following notable events occurred while reviewing the video footage: a. Thursday, November 8, 2018, 1651 hours - St. Francois County Deputy B. Ratliff arrives at the sally port with and escorts him into the booking area for processing. is handcuffed behind his back as they stand at the booking counter. b. 1703 hours - Deputy Ratliff removes the handcuffs from . Deputy Ratliff appears to have a friendly conversation with before leaving the booking area. appears cooperative as he stands at the booking counter. c. 1706 hours - St. Francois County Deputy D. Sansoucie performs a search of at the booking counter. Just prior to the search, suspiciously looks around as he appears to retrieve a small item (possibly contraband) from his right pants pocket, with his right hand. He quickly transfers the item to his left hand. As removes his boots and sweatshirt, his left pinky, ring finger, and middle finger remain clinched ahold of the item as Deputy Sansoucie performs the search. At one point during the search, appears to scratch the back of his head with his clinched left hand. At the conclusion of the search, places his left hand in his left pants pocket where he appears to conceal the small item, prior to being placed in a holding cell. d. 1708 hours is placed in holding cell R-8 by himself. has access to a toilet and water fountain. Shortly after arriving in the cell, places his sleeping mat on the floor and lies down on his back. He then retrieves the small item from his left pants Page 1 of 4 Attachments: Videos from St. Francois County Jail Page 4 of 4 DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Copy of Summons 1 and 2 Page 3 of 3 from the holding cell and placed in general population in the back of the jail. which officer told about . was unsure 6. said he remembered while was secured in the restraint chair and screaming, a heavier set male deputy, with dark hair and a mustache, open the cell door he was in. He told the three Department of Corrections inmates if they “wanted to go beat his ( ) ass, they wouldn’t catch a case.” None of the inmates left the cell. A couple hours later, the same deputy opened cell door and said, “Shut the fuck up you fucking piece of shit.” said he heard the deputy open the cell door and curse at him, but he didn’t know if he entered the cell or not. said he went to sleep and when he woke up, was quiet. I asked if he heard any other inmates tell jail staff that consumed drugs. He said “everyone” was talking about it, but he doesn’t know if anyone else told jail staff. 7. This interview was recorded with my Patrol issued Olympus digital voice recorder. A copy of the interview was labeled, “Interview of ”, and will be placed in the attachments folder on the universal serial bus (USB) drive for this case. 8. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Page 2 of 2 Missouri State Highway Patrol Supplemental Report Incident #180687789 SUPPLEMENT #15 - RECEIPT OF AUTOPSY REPORT DATE OF REPORT - 12/10/2018 1. On Monday, December 10, 2018, I received a copy of the autopsy report of from St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office Captain Greg Armstrong. The autopsy was performed by Pathologist Russell Deidiker, M.D. and lists cause of death as acute methamphetamine intoxication. Details of the report can be found in the following narrative. 2. On Monday, December 10, 2018, I received a copy of ’ autopsy report from St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office Captain Greg Armstrong. The autopsy (Report: A-18-199) was performed by Pathologist Russell Deidiker, M.D. at the St. Francois County, Missouri Morgue on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, at 1000 hours. St. Francois County Coroner James Coplin requested the autopsy be performed. 3. In the summary of findings, subsection I (Acute Methamphetamine Intoxication), Doctor Deidiker lists that had 3700 ng/ml of methamphetamine in his blood, and greater than 10,000 ng/ml of methamphetamine in his urine. Dr. Deidiker also says two wrinkled plastic fragments were found in stomach. 4. In the summary of findings, subsection II (Multifocal Superficial Injuries), Doctor Deidiker says had a wedge-shaped abrasion on left lateral back at axillary crease, curvilinear abrasion from left axillary crease upward onto chest, crescent shaped mixed abrasions, and contusion on both wrists and ankles, and small superficial abrasions on his hand, wrist, and toe. 5. Doctor Deidiker determined that died as a result of acute methamphetamine intoxication, and the manner of death was ruled as accidental. 6. A copy of Doctor Deidiker’s autopsy report was labeled, “ Autopsy Report”, and will be placed in the attachments folder on the universal serial bus (USB) drive for this case. 7. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Copy of Autopsy Report Page 1 of 1 8. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Interview of Page 2 of 2 DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Kevin Davis Page 3 of 3 his shift, they considered contacting further help for Deputy Hahn said he told Deputies Davis and Hanson to complete a log entry into the computer, so the day shift would know what was going on. Deputies Davis and Hanson did not know how to complete the log, so Deputy Alicia Hodge completed the entry when she came to work on the day shift. I asked if anyone maintained a written log showing when they checked on throughout the night. Deputy Hahn said they have the ability to complete one, but one was not performed for He said they normally complete a computer entry, so all the shifts know what is going on. At 0700 hours, Deputy Hahn completed his shift and left the jail. 7. Deputy Hahn returned to work on November 10, 2018, at 2300 hours, and found was still in the restraint chair. Deputy Tim Hanson had called out sick leaving Deputy Davis and Deputy Hahn as the only two staff members working that evening. Deputy Davis asked Deputy Hahn if he should remove from the restraint chair. Deputy Hahn said was still yelling and was an officer safety risk. He told Deputy Davis to not remove him from the restraint chair. 8. Deputy Hahn said he saw Deputy Davis check on several times during the evening. He said he checked on the camera at approximately 0130 hours. He thought had fallen asleep, but Deputy Davis saw eyes were open. Deputy Davis returned to central control and told Deputy Hahn that he thought was dead. Deputy Hahn went to cell and gave him a sternal rub and he didn’t respond. Deputy Hahn directed Deputy Davis to begin CPR and he called for an ambulance. 9. Deputy Hahn said he has not received any training on the use of the restraint chair. He also said the sheriff’s office does not have a written policy governing the use of the chair. I asked how they know how to use the restraint chair. He said they are shown what to do by senior officers. 10. Deputy Hahn completed a written supplemental report to Deputy Davis’ written report for this incident. I collected the report from Chief Deputy Greg Armstrong and it is in the supplement 2 folder labeled “Davis Incident Report.” This interview was recorded with my Patrol issued Olympus digital voice recorder. A copy of the interview was labeled, “Interview of Zerick Hahn”, and placed in the attachments folder on the Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive for this case. 11. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Zerick Hahn Page 2 of 2 they never had to go “hands on” with him. At the end of Deputy Hansen’s shift, at approximately 0700 hours, he left the facility and did not return. I asked if any inmates told him that consumed drugs or had any medical concerns. Deputy Hansen stated he never received any information about 7. Deputy Hansen said he has not received any training on the use of the restraint chair. He also said the sheriff’s office does not have a written policy governing the use of the chair. I asked how they know how to use the restraint chair. He said if they have a combative inmate, they are placed in the chair. Deputy Hansen also said there was no written checklist made for monitoring He said Deputy Alicia Hodge made an electronic log entry because he and Deputy Davis did not know how to complete one. Deputy Hansen did not write a written report for this incident. 8. This interview was recorded with my Patrol issued Olympus digital voice recorder. A copy of the interview was labeled, “Interview of Deputy Hansen”, and placed in the attachments folder on the Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive for this case. 9. This investigation continues. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Attachments: Audio Interview of Deputy Hansen Page 2 of 2 6. This investigation is closed. Dustin B. Reed, Corporal Division of Drug and Crime Control DBR:ejs Page 9 of 9