The Washington Counties Risk Pool, the insurer for Pacific and 23 other counties, is on the hook when inmates die in custody. Two such deaths in Pacific County, after decades without any, have spurred a sharp examination by the insurer of financial risk associated with the Pacific County Jail.

SOUTH BEND — New details are emerging in the surprise decision by Pacific County General Administration to separate the jail from the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office, which has sparked a backlash on social media led by Sheriff Daniel Garcia.

As the Observer reported, the county apparently “blindsided” Garcia and his staff during a workshop on Dec. 18 about the proposal. He took to Facebook on Dec. 19 to voice his unhappiness about the change.

The county has been muted in explaining its reasoning but has repeatedly stated that the change is intended to “mitigate risk.”

Over the past two years, two inmates have died in jail — one due to lack of health care in the facility and another from suicide. The details of the suicide have been kept under tight wraps, and requests for details about the incident have been rejected. The first death recently resulted in a nearly $3 million payout, while the financial cost of the suicide has yet to be determined.

Under a long-established legal principle, when someone is incarcerated, the jail or prison is responsible for their safety and well-being.

The sheriff’s office’s decision not to bring in an outside agency to investigate the suicide death inside the jail has been “a hot topic” — especially with the county’s insurer, the Washington Counties Risk Pool.

According to a legal consultant, the decision to conduct the investigation — even an initial investigation — in-house can have drastic effects on a wrongful death lawsuit. It has been compared to “muddying the water.”

As has been pointed out in multiple posts on Facebook about the situation, the previous inmate’s death was not during Garcia’s term. It happened on Dec. 13, 2022, 18 days before the transition from then-sheriff Robin Souvenir to Daniel Garcia.

However, Souvenir opted to immediately request the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to launch an investigation into the death — which was completed and handed over to Pacific County on Jan. 10, 2023 — 10 days into Garcia’s term.

Another issue has been that under Washington state law RCW 70.48.510, the sheriff’s office was required to conduct an unexpected fatality review panel within 120 days of the death. The agency has yet to complete the review.

In a statement from PCSO Chief Civil Deputy Hollie Billeci on Nov. 1, she stated that Garcia made a “verbal extension” at an unknown date and “there are no responsive documents” for a requested update on the jail-death review.

Jailers oppose move

The union for the corrections officers inside the jail issued a letter on Dec. 20 opposing a separation. The letter outlines multiple issues, including a lack of previous oversight, the county ignoring their voice, and a belief that the current administration is moving the jail in a positive direction.

“We have a lack of confidence in the commissioners, chief administrative officer’s and risk manager’s ability to properly run the jail and mitigate risk and liability due to their past practices of ignoring corrective measures and needs of the jail,” the letter states. “The jail is not a place to experiment with, especially when it is running efficiently and continuing to progress in the right direction.”

All correction deputies including Sgt. Corey Flynn signed the letter. Flynn was the head of the jail during the Souvenir term at the sheriff’s office and was demoted so Cmdr. Michael Parker could be appointed to the jail position.

Ex-jailer’s insights

One of the complaints outlined in the letter states that the jail has not been adequately trained in the past.

Larry Baker, a corrections officer who resigned from the jail after 26 years in 2021 over a difference of opinion, lashed out at the sheriff’s office in a comment to the Observer.

“The culture within the jail is, and always has been, volatile at best,” Baker said. “It’s the dirty little secret nobody wants to talk about in the county, and it’s got to stop before even more die in that facility. Mike Parker being hired by the county and placed in charge of something he knows absolutely nothing about makes about as much sense as Daniel Garcia being voted in as sheriff with zero law enforcement background. Yet, here he is, and how’s that working out?”

“Honestly, it’s not. This is the right move to mitigate not only liability but to save lives and actually improve the facility. Nobody died in that facility during my 26 years, now two have tragically died. One due to incompetence, sleeping on the job, and lying about doing checks, the other more likely to people not doing periodic cell checks every hour or so and not seasoned enough to recognize the signs of people contemplating self-harm or just not caring,” Baker added.

Baker also had parting words for the current administration.

“So much more could be said, but I’ll leave it at this for now,” Baker said. “Daniel Garcia and Mike Parker have no business in law enforcement. Period.”

The separation proposal isn’t the first time the topic has come up. Last year while the Pacific County Dispatch Center was being separated from the sheriff’s office, the corrections officers reached out to the county interested in a similar path.

Specialist resigns

According to other public records obtained by the Observer, contracted-medical specialist MaryAnne Murray submitted a resignation letter to the county with an effective date of Oct. 31, 2024.

However, Murray subsequently said that her resignation was unrelated to the jail suicide, of which she was unaware at the time.

“It is necessitated by multiple challenges which I believe threaten inmate safety and pose risks to the county as well as to me and my standing within my profession,” Murray stated. “In my visits to inmates at the Pacific County Jail, I have encountered multiple discrepancies in commonly accepted medical practice.”

“When I have evaluated inmates and prescribed medications, the medication orders are not always followed, and sometimes inmates are given psychiatric medications which I have not reviewed or been consulted about,” she added.

As a board-certified Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP), Murray described a variety of hurdles in providing necessary care.

“A third factor is that decisions about psychiatric medications are made without consulting me,” Murray stated. “I have been denied access to my jail patients’ medication lists and medication administration records. Jail deputies have been confused about what I can be allowed to do for patients. All of these issues pose risks to the inmates as well as the jail deputies, and Pacific County.”

“Additionally, despite my nationally recognized status and credentials in treating patients with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental disorders, I have been disallowed to prescribe Buprenorphine (Suboxone) for patients with opioid use disorders (OUD). I have observed patients suffering withdrawal symptoms due to inadequately treated OUD. These under-treated patients are at very high risk of death during the two weeks following their release from jail. I fear for their lives,” Murray added.

In her resignation letter, Murray noted that the issues “pose ethical problems” and that she “fears for her license.”

“I cannot remain party to these practices” Murray states.

An earlier version of this story drew a connection between the suicide and Murray’s resignation; we apologize for this misinterpretation, which was based on the close proximity of the events. She said it was not her intention to act as a “whistleblower” concerning jail issues.