Death of impaired woman: Another psychiatric clinic drops the ball

A sad tale in which the experts at a state psychiatric institution screw up and cause the death of an impaired woman. via KVOA

A woman who died in a Flagstaff jail wasn't supposed to be behind bars at the time of her death, and may not have died in the first place if jail staff had known about her serious medical condition, according to police and investigative reports.

Lindsey G. Chewning, 23, died of complications from morbid obesity in the Coconino County Detention Facility in November, according to an autopsy report.

Other reports obtained by the Arizona Daily Sun show Chewning had sleep apnea and was not given the oxygen she needed while she slept.

Jail staff said they were never told Chewning had sleep apnea, and that if they had known, they would have been able to help her.

Chewning had been transferred to the jail after police records show she bit a staff member at the Guidance Center, a mental health clinic. Chewning was mentally ill and had the mental capacity of a child.

Jay McCarthy, attorney for the Guidance Center, declined to comment on the case.

But police reports show Flagstaff officer Michael Lavelle responded to the Guidance Center on Nov. 11 after receiving a call about an assault.

Staff in the psychiatric acute care unit told Lavelle that Chewning, angry over not being able to watch "The Little Mermaid," had bitten one of the staff members, leaving a mark and bruising. A supervisor requested that Chewning be taken to the jail.

Lavelle did just that. He later told an investigator that staff at the Guidance Center never told him about Chewning's condition.

The nursing staff at the jail also said they were not told of Chewning's condition, even after they called the Guidance Center for more information about Chewning, according to Coconino County Sheriff's Office reports.

Department of Economic Security investigator Mark Adams interviewed Guidance Center staff responsible for Chewning's care. They could not recall if they had told the jail or arresting officer of Chewning's sleep apnea, according to Adams's report.

Guidance Center CEO Linda Cowan declined to comment about Chewning's case.

Reports also show Chewning was supposed to be released from the jail three days before her death, when a judge had decided that no charges would be filed against her.

But rather than being sent back to the Guidance Center, where Chewning was to await a transfer to the Arizona State Hospital in Phoenix, a Guidance Center psychiatrist decided it would be best for Chewning to stay in the jail, according to Adams's report.

The psychiatrist, Christopher Linsky, told Adams he didn't want to needlessly stress Chewning.

Chewning was to be transferred to the state hospital the day after she died.

Sheriff Bill Pribil said that jail was no place for Chewning or any other acutely mentally ill person. But, he said the Guidance Center wouldn't take Chewning back.

"One alternative was to let her out the front door, but because of her issues, that would have put her in harm's way, and she probably would have committed another crime," Pribil said. "We were trying to do the best thing for her."