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Lenny Ortiz of Wheat Ridge writes:

As a past Denver sheriff’s deputy assigned to both of the jails, I have witnessed the unprofessional care inmates receive at the hands of the medical staff. It should be noted that deputy sheriffs are at the jails to provide security, not to provide treatment or determine the medical needs of inmates. Deputies follow post orders requiring 30-minute rounds of the inmate living area. Also are given instruction on how many blankets an inmate receive. When I was a deputy, an inmate could only have one blanket unless a second was authorized by the medical staff.
Deputy sheriffs see thousands of inmates pass through the city and county jail each year and most of them complain of something during their stay.
According to the reports, a jail deputy contacted the nurse on duty and informed her of Ms. Rice’s complaints. This deputy did exactly what she was trained to do. In my opinion, the medical staff at the hospital and at the city jail are responsible for the death of Emily Rice, not the deputy sheriffs.
The lack of rounds by the deputies is not the reason Ms. Rice is dead, the lack of medical attention is. To discipline or even fault the deputies in this tragic death is wrong. The probe clearly shows a deputy contacted the medical staff about Emily, which is protocol. For the nurse not to act on this information, is criminal. Deputy sheriff’s have been taking the brunt for the medical staff for many years. It is time for the Denver Sheriff Department stop protecting the medical staff when they clearly are responsible for the death of Emily Rice.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

AMEN!

Hey,Sheriff,to most of us a cop is a cop is a cop.If you'd like to impress all us civilians,go get your boss after District Attorney Morrissey loud nasty,and in public for all the footdragging he's been doing on this case.Up to you and all your brothers,Lenny.Think about how good your crew would look if you folks took a stand against people dying in the custody of a city sworn "to serve and protect".

I'm sorry Ms. Rice had to die such a horrible death. It does seem that all medical personel involved dropped the ball.

However you have to see things from their point of view. On any given night they can see up to 10 or more people in the ER drunk and disorderly claiming all kinds of injuries to get a bed instead of a jail cell.

Ms. Rice was arrested for DUI and had crashed her car.Would the parents be sueing if she had killed a family coming home from an event?

She was out on the roads driving drunk.When she crashed fer car it was a miracle someone else wasn't killed or injured.She injured herself.She didn't deserve to die and I know this is a harsh statement,but how many more deaths do families have to endure by people driving drunk?

Most drunk drivers go on to collect many more DUI's before something tragic happens.

I'm sorry for her family . I know what it is like to lose a loved one.

When people drive drunk it's usually an innocent person who gets killed. Usually the drunk driver doesn't get hurt.

I'm glad no innocent person or family got hurt that night.

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