Inmate death caused by alcohol, blunt force trauma

A 49-year-old Odenton man who died last January while spending the night at the Jennifer Road Detention Center died of blunt force trauma combined with alcohol ketosis, according to a county police report.

The family of Michael G. McCormick - who showed up for court drunk on Jan. 14 and was subsequently found in contempt and taken to jail with a .32 blood-alcohol content - has indicated it plans to file a lawsuit against the county.

It is unclear exactly how Mr. McCormick, of 513 Lisa Lane, broke three ribs - puncturing his left lung and causing his chest cavity to fill with blood. But a cell mate said he fell from his bunk. Police do not suspect foul play.

Assistant Medical Examiner Veronica Pollack could not determine a manner of death and county police detectives never attributed the injuries in a police report obtained by The Capital on Monday following a Freedom of Information request.

The police investigation found Mr. McCormick was shaking and going through alcohol withdrawal when he was taken to the jail. Mr. McCormick declined medical help, leading jail staff to put him in a regular cell.

Lawrence Cooper, Mr. McCormick's cell mate for part of the night, told police Mr. McCormick fell out of his bunk bed twice - landing on the concrete floor 4.7 feet below.

An internal jail investigation found correctional officers and other jail staff did everything by the book. And the report says Mr. McCormick declined at least two other offers of medical assistance during his incarceration.

"They performed in full accordance with policy," said Robin Harting, superintendent of county detention facilities.

She declined further comment about the Jan. 15 death, citing the potential lawsuit. County Attorney Jonathan Hodgson also declined to comment, explaining he doesn't know what the McCormick family will claim in the lawsuit.

Alcohol ketosis, the other factor that contributed to Mr. McCormick's death, is when the liver is overwhelmed and can't break down alcohol fast enough. Dr. Paul Giannandrea, medical director of Pathways, an alcohol and drug treatment center at Anne Arundel Medical Center, said ketones - by-products of the break-down process - can build up in the body and have toxic effects on the brain.

Four times the limit

District Court Judge Megan B. Johnson, her courtroom staff and Defense Attorney Alan Schuldenfrei all knew Mr. McCormick was drunk when he showed up for court Jan. 14 on charges he left the scene of an October traffic accident.

According to a recording of the court proceedings, officials with the Division of Parole and Probation administered a preliminary breath test on Mr. McCormick - court records indicate he blew a .32, four times the .08 threshold set for drivers - and Judge Johnson sent him to jail for the night.

Ms. Harting said in January that information about Mr. McCormick's blood-alcohol content never made it to the county jail.

However, Mr. McCormick did tell jail staff he had been drinking when he was booked into the jail. Several correctional guards and jail employees also told police they noticed he smelled of alcohol, was slurring his words and that his hands were shaking badly.

Officer Nicole Carrington thought Mr. McCormick was suffering "delirium tremens" - severe hallucinations - from alcohol withdrawal when he was booked into the jail. She checked with a nurse to make sure he didn't need to go to a medical unit. The nurse said he did not need to go to the infirmary because Mr. McCormick told her he was OK.

During the 17 hours Mr. McCormick was in custody, he told jail staff at least three times he did not need medical assistance, according to the report.

Mr. McCormick never complained or asked for help of any of the three people he shared a cell with while at the courthouse and jail, according to the report.

His cell mates, however, told police Mr. McCormick was open about his withdrawal. They said he was shaking like a leaf and sweating like it was 100 degrees outside, according to the report.

The death

No lawsuits have yet been filed in connection with Mr. McCormick's death, and Lon Engel, the McCormicks' attorney, could not be reached for comment. Nong McCormick, Mr. McCormick's widow, and Sabrina McCormick, Mr. McCormick's daughter, also could not be reached.

It is unclear what the family believes the county or Correctional Medical Services - the St. Louis, Mo., company that the county contracts with for inmate medical care - should have done differently to prevent Mr. McCormick's death.

Dr. Giannandrea said that while true delirium tremens can be fatal, patients regularly get the shakes when they go through alcohol withdrawal. He said that if a patient is lucid and coherent, the state can't force medical treatment.

"If he's refusing it, you can't force it," he said, noting alcoholics try to stop drinking on their own every day.

According to the police report, two correctional officers saw Mr. McCormick the morning he died. The first officer noticed Mr. McCormick was shaking about 7 a.m., but Mr. McCormick told the officer he was just cold and going through alcohol withdrawal. He declined medical assistance and the officer left. When a second officer returned at 7:25 a.m. to open the cell door and take him to court, Mr. McCormick collapsed. That officer called for help, leading additional officers and a nurse working at the jail to respond and begin CPR. A nurse called for an ambulance and tried to use an automatic defibrillator, but the device could not locate a pulse. Mr. McCormick was taken by ambulance at 7:55 a.m. to the Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at 8:10 a.m.

Other deaths

Mr. McCormick was the second of three inmates to die at the Jennifer Road Detention Center in January and early February.

Monteray Arkell Hastey, 37, of Annapolis, died Jan. 4 after two days in the detention center. An autopsy determined he committed suicide.

James Leroy Downs, 45, of Pasadena, died Feb. 1 after six weeks in the detention center. An autopsy determined he died of heart disease.