Mother suing for improper detainment

MANAGING EDITOR

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A Clovis mother is suing the Curry County Commission and former employees of the Curry County Detention Center for improper detainment of her son resulting in post traumatic stress disorder.

The case brought by Kelly Cook has been randomly assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory J. Fouratt in Las Cruces, according to court records.

Three years ago, Cook’s 15-year-old son was booked into the Curry County Juvenile Detention Center. The suit alleges the youth was unnecessarily put into solitary confinement, not treated for diagnosed mental or medical issues and subject to “deliberate indifference” by jail staff.

Cook said she hasn’t been contacted by the county regarding the suit, and referred all questions to her attorney, Matt Coyte of Albuquerque.

Coyte said the suit seeks undetermined financial restitution, and wholesale changes in how juveniles are housed in the county.

“Frankly, I’m not sure the Curry detention center is fit to hold children, given we’ve sued them for this in the past and they had to pay it out,” Coyte said. “They seemed to recognize holding children in solitary was wrong at the time, but they continued to do it.

“This lawsuit should help bring light on how Curry County treats its children, so they’ll either stop it or close the center and find people to run it in a satisfactory manner.”

County Commission Chairman Wendell Bostwick said the case has been turned over to the New Mexico Association of Counties, and declined to elaborate on any specifics.

“Any time there are allegations, we’re always concerned,” Bostwick said. “But they’re allegations. The facts will determine the outcome.”

Among the numerous allegations:

• For most of his sentence, the teen was placed in solitary confinement despite recommendations he be placed in the facility’s general population.

• Jail staff did little to nothing to help him, despite pre-confinement diagnoses of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

• For nearly 10 months of his sentence, the boy was placed on a health and wellness watch. At one point, he wrote a journal entry that said he felt abused and neglected, to which an officer told him he was “just freaking out and will be fine.”

• Records showed he was frequently held in his cell for at least 20 hours per day, with releases for short showers and minimal recreation opportunities.

• His situation spiraled to the point he was placed on suicide watch in January 2014.