An identity theft suspect gave birth alone on a mattress in her Denver jail cell — and no one provided medical attention, even though she writhed and screamed in pain, according to video and a lawsuit.
Diana Sanchez told Denver Sheriff Department deputies around 5 a.m. on July 31, 2018 that she was in labor, local station FOX 31 reported. Her water broke around 9:45 a.m., and she appeared to be in agony as she delivered the baby about an hour later — with no one by her side, the video shows.
Now, she is suing the city and county of Denver, Denver Health Medical Center and six individuals, the station reported.
The 47-page suit, obtained by the local station, alleges that nurses, as well as sheriff’s deputies, “callously made her labor alone for hours, and ultimately give birth alone in a dirty jail cell without any medical care.”
“I felt helpless,” Sanchez told the local station. “Nobody was helping me. There’s so many people there, and nobody lifted a finger, basically. “
“That pain was just indescribable,” she added. “What hurts me more though is the fact that nobody cared.”
In the lawsuit, Sanchez said that several Denver Health nurses, as well as jail employees, were aware that she was in active labor for hours, that she was days away from her due date and that her water had broken before.
The video shows a male nurse, who had been watching from outside the cell, walking in moments after Sanchez delivered her son.
“Picks up the baby as though he’s never seen one in his life,” Sanchez’s attorney Mari Newman told the station. “I mean, the lack of any sort of compassion is astounding.”
“The failure to provide care to a woman who is in labor and a baby who is born without any medical assistance in a dirty jail cell, this is not civilized,” Newman added, noting that officials “cruelly chose convenience over compassion.”
In a statement obtained by the station, the sheriff’s spokeswoman said “the care and well-being of our inmates is a top priority for the Denver Sheriff’s Department, which is why we contract with Denver Health to provide comprehensive medical care at both of our jails.”
“After learning that Ms. Sanchez gave birth in a cell at the Denver County Jail…Sheriff [Patrick] Firman immediately ordered Internal Affairs to conduct a review to understand what happened,” the statement said. “Denver Health was also asked to review this incident.”
The investigation determined that the deputies “took the appropriate actions under the circumstances and followed the relevant policies and procedures,” according to the spokeswoman.
But since the incident, she said, the policy has been clarified to state that “when an inmate is in labor, an emergency ambulance will be called.”
Denver Health said it is unable to comment on the pending legal matter.
Sanchez had been booked into the jail two weeks earlier on an identity theft charge, the outlet reported. She was released on bond after the birth of her son.
“Any lay person can see that a woman who has been in labor for hours and hours and who is yelling, calling that she’s in labor and needs to call the hospital needs to go to the hospital, pick up the phone and call 911,” Newman said.
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