Misconduct alleged against sheriff, county
MISSOULA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana is suing Lake County on behalf of Bethany Cajúne, a Ronan woman who claims the Lake County Sheriff’s Office withheld medication during her incarceration in the Lake County Detention Center and by doing so, endangered the life of her unborn child.
“I was afraid my baby might die because Lake County Detention Facility was denying me treatment,” said Cajúne in an ACLU press release.
According to the complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Cajúne reported to the Lake County Detention Center to serve a sentence for traffic violations in March 2009. At the time, she was five months pregnant and participating in a medication treatment program for a drug addiction.
ACLU attorneys wrote in the complaint, “[Cajúne’s] medication, Suboxone, enabled [her] to remain drug-free while she participated in a comprehensive counseling program.”
Upon learning of her pregnancy, Cajúne’s physicians advised her to remain on her medication. According to the complaint “when a pregnant woman is abruptly taken off her medication-assisted treatment, her fetus may go into withdrawal and suffer from lack of oxygen, possibly causing fetal stress…[and] there is an increased risk of preterm labor, low birth weight, and fetal death.”
After entering the Lake County Jail, the ACLU alleges that officials at the jail refused Cajúne her medication despite her physician’s insistence to officials Cajúne’s need for the medicine.
Cajúne said she went into withdrawal and suffered from a number of symptoms common to withdrawal including vomiting and diarrhea.
“I was starting to get worried that the baby wasn’t getting enough vitamins and nutrients,” Cajúne said in an ACLU sponsored YouTube video.
Diana Kasdan, an attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said “[They Lake County Sheriff’s Office] was putting [Cajúne’s] pregnancy at risk. They were putting her in a situation where she might have a miscarriage,” in the same video.
In addition to the county, the claim also names Sheriff Lucky Larson, Captain Luc Mathias, chief detention officer at the jail and Dr. Stephen Irwin, medical doctor for the Lake County Jail.
Larson had no comment on the pending suit.
Lake County and the individual defendants will be represented by the Montana Association of Counties, said chief legal representative for MACo Mike Sehestedt.
“MACo is a risk sharing pool that Lake County is a part of,” he said. “We’re kind of like insurance for the county. In the event of legal action, we represent the county and county officials involved.”
Right now, the ACLU hasn’t officially served the defendants of the lawsuit, Sehestedt said.
“Until they do, there isn’t much preparation we can do. We’ve directed the Sheriff’s Office to begin collecting all paperwork and records related to this event.
“When the ACLU gets done with their media blitz and serves the defendants, we’ll become more involved as legal council,” he said.
Once served, Lake County will have 20 days to file a response, Sehestedt said.