Judge dismisses lawsuit over man’s death in Cass County Jail – InForum

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the text crisis line by texting TALK to 741741.

FARGO — A federal judge has released a

civil action

related to a man who bled to death in a cell at the Cass County Jail four years ago.

On Monday, Oct. 21, U.S. District Judge for North Dakota Peter Welte ruled that the Cass County Jail did not violate

Luke Laducer

rights when he died in prison on December 18, 2020. On Wednesday, Leducer’s family filed an appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling feels like a “punch in the gut” for the family, their attorney, Jeff Price, told The Forum on Thursday.

“I think the judge got it wrong,” he said.

Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner said the jail was pleased with the decision, adding that the judge correctly dismissed the case.

“We hope that the federal court’s decision will be upheld on appeal,” he said.

The ruling comes nearly four years after Laducer’s death and nearly two years after his family filed a lawsuit against the county, the jail, Essentia Health and others involved in the case.

Laducer called police to his Fargo home at 2:23 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2020, according to the civil complaint. According to court documents, he told a 911 dispatcher that he was trying to kill himself by drinking alcohol.

According to court documents, the Fargo Police Department transported Laducker to Essentia Hospital, where he was allowed to go to the jail for detoxification. Police arrested Laducker on an outstanding warrant. He was charged with a felony alleging that he used personal information without authorization to obtain a credit card and charged someone’s card without authorization.

Laducer was taken to the jail at 3 a.m. and died 14 hours later of gastrointestinal bleeding, according to court documents. He died of

natural causes

Janer said.

The civil complaint said Laducer was spitting, coughing or sneezing blood when police arrived at his apartment. This could be a sign of bleeding, the complaint said.

The family’s medical staff allegedly ignored Leducer’s suicidal comments, failed to take his vital signs and failed to properly examine him before releasing him to jail, the complaint states. He was in Esentia’s emergency room within five minutes, the complaint said.

When he arrived at the jail, his blood alcohol content was 0.35 percent, four times the legal limit for driving, the complaint said.

It was the first time anyone had given him a BAC test, the complaint said. No medical personnel examined Laducer at the jail, the complaint said.

Staff checked on him throughout the day and saw no signs of medical attention until 5:16 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2020, Janer previously told The Forum. The North Dakota Department of Corrections found that during Laducer’s emergency medical treatment, the prison was operating in accordance with state correctional standards.

Prison officials did not know Laducer needed medical attention until after 5 p.m. the day he died, Welte ruled. Prison employees at that time tried to save lives, writes Welte.

Earlier this year, Laducer’s family agreed to settle a case against Essentia Health and the doctors who examined him before he was sent to prison.