Lake County Jail Video Shows Guards Fail To Help Dying Inmate

WAUKEGAN, IL — The Lake County Sheriff's Office released portions of a surveillance video showing a nonchalant response by correctional officers when a detainee was found unresponsive in a cell in a maximum security area of the Lake County Jail last month. The detainee, 32-year-old Edward Robinson of Waukegan, later died.

The roughly 10-minute video shows two guards find Robinson unconscious in his cell shortly after 11 a.m. on Sept. 19. Instead of rendering any aid, they stand around and wait for the arrival of a nurse, who takes about six minutes to arrive. Robinson would later be taken to Vista East Hospital in Waukegan and pronounced dead at 12:17 p.m., according to the sheriff's office.

Correctional officers noticed that Robinson was lethargic and had difficulty communicating while delivering breakfast around 6 a.m., according to Undersherrif David Hare. The officers contacted medical staff at the time, but no one came for an evaluation. Medical care at the jail is provided by Miami-based Armor Correctional Health Services. A nurse eventually visited Robinson around 9:17 a.m. following the next medical rounds. Robinson was found unresponsive about two hours later prior to lunch time.

At a press conference Wednesday, Curran said he was unsatisfied with the officers' response. He said he wanted to release the video to demonstrate the transparency and accountability of his office.

"We're not perfect," Curran said. "But we do hold people accountable."

After initially viewing the video, Sheriff Mark Curran demoted two top jail officials and placed two supervising officers on administrative leave. He said the officers, a sergeant and a lieutenant, could be fired as a result of an investigation into their response.

"There's dignity in all human beings, and that's why the video was upsetting to me," Curran said. "An individual was laying on the ground and, quite frankly, I didn't think that there was the rush that I would have hoped, in terms of applying CPR, and the concern that should have been showed by the officers who were there."

The cause of Robinson's death has not been determined. The Lake County Coroner's Office said an autopsy showed "no signs of trauma," and the results of a toxicology report are not expected for up to two months. The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force is conducting a death investigation, while the sheriff's office is conducting an internal investigation.

Robinson had been jailed since July in connection with a burglary charge, according to the sheriff's office. A judge ruled he was unfit to stand trial but he remained in detention until he could be placed in a treatment program.

Curran said Robinson, whose family said he suffered from schizophrenia, had been placed in his own cell in the jail's administrative segregation unit after disruptive behavior including banging chairs and stuffing things in toilets. He said Robinson's death was an indictment of the criminal justice system and questioned why he was being held at the jail at all.

"Jails and prisons are not equipped for the mentally ill, they're just not," Curran said. "Mr. Robinson was not a dangerous or a psychopathic human being at all. He was just a person that struggled with mental illness and this is not a place where those people should be."

The officers involved were also wearing body cameras, but no video or audio from those recordings was released. The sheriff said videos had previously been shown to members of Robinson's family and their attorney. Curran previously said he wanted to release the video as soon as possible to avoid any appearance of delaying its release until after next month's election in which the Libertyville Republican is seeking his fourth term.

UPDATE: Detainee Died Of 'Natural Causes' At Lake County Jail: Inquest

EARLIER: Lake County Jail Death: Chiefs Demoted, Officers On Leave