(COLORADO SPRINGS) – Community members and the Colorado Springs Peoples Coalition is planning a protest at the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) on Tuesday, July 4.
Community organizers are protesting the El Paso County Jail’s healthcare program, WellPath. They are also gathering to remember Cassandra Ramirez, age 48, and Daniel Murry, age 37 who died at the jail on July 3rd and 4th, 2022.
The organizations protesting claim that by 2019, WellPath had been sued 1,300 times and is currently the largest correctional medical provider in the United States contracting at over 150 facilities. EPSO has a contract with WellPath Medical which “manages immediate concerns from inmates pertaining to mental health care.” The Sheriff’s office also said that the TRUST program can be used for inmates in need of counseling or crisis response.
According to Lieutenant Deborah Mynatt, Public Information Officer for EPSO, the jail conducts a “Critical Incident Review” after each critical incident at the jail, such as the death of an inmate.
“These reviews are comprehensive, examining all aspects of the response to the emergency, as well as relevant factors surrounding inmate medical care leading up to the event when appropriate. The review allows the Sheriff’s Office to determine how operations may be improved, and what operations are working well, with specific focus in the areas of policy, equipment, communications, and training,” Lt. Mynatt said.
Community organizers are currently being sued by an El Paso County family for the wrongful death of their loved one in 2022. They are demanding Sheriff Roybal replace WellPath with a community-based non-profit healthcare model.
They are also demanding an independent investigation into the alleged nine deaths in 2022 at the El Paso County Jail, the immediate release of medical and jail records to the families of deceased inmates, the immediate end to El Paso County’s contract with WellPath, community control of El Paso County Sheriff’s Office through independent civilian oversight, cash bail reform for households and at-risk individuals, and immediate right to treatment for inmates.
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office provided FOX21 Local News with the following statement on the planned protest: “The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office always supports the peaceful exercise of an individual’s constitutionally guaranteed right to protest. Due to pending litigation and active investigations, and per policy, we cannot provide further comment at this time,” said Cassandra Sebastian, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer.
