Monroe County Legislature votes on $360,000 settlement after prison suicide

Monroe County has reached a $360,000 settlement with the family of a woman who died in the Monroe County Jail.

The agreement, which still requires legislative approval, ends nearly five years of litigation and mediation related to the suicide of Sitarah Daniels while in Monroe County Sheriff's custody. The lawsuit alleged that Daniels' death could have been avoided if the jail had followed proper protocols and placed her on suicide watch.

According to a complaint filed by Daniels' mother, Juanita James, Daniels was booked into the Monroe County Jail as a non-trial inmate in August 2018. Daniels, 32, has a history of mental illness, including depression, substance abuse and schizoaffective disorder. During a 2015 stint in jail, Daniels attempted to hang herself with her cell sheet.

Daniels was placed on suicide watch in 2018. The complaint states that she had difficulty walking and communicating. But although her mental state showed little change, she was removed from constant monitoring less than a week after being admitted.

Daniels had a court date on Sept. 4, after which she was returned to her cell. The lawsuit alleges that prison officers failed to conduct a full patrol that afternoon, even after an alarm was sounded indicating the patrol was incomplete. Daniels was caught on video from inside the prison tying a blanket to the cell door and then hanging herself.

Officers did not check on her until about 25 minutes later and found her unresponsive. Although she regained a pulse after resuscitation efforts, she died the next day at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Sheriff Todd Baxter later announced that disciplinary action had been taken against the officers involved, including demotion.

“Sitarah Daniels is someone's daughter, friend, loved one. I extend my sincere condolences to Ms. Daniels' family and friends, especially Sitarah's mother,” Baxter said in a 2018 statement. “As Sheriff of Monroe County, I am saddened each time someone dies while in the care and custody of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. No incident of this nature is taken lightly.”

The state Department of Corrections also launched an investigation into Daniel's death. The results of that investigation were not immediately available.

James sued the district in 2019, claiming the prison failed to adequately review Daniels' mental health plan, negligently isolated her, missed guard rounds and failed to give her an anti-suicide blanket.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office was later removed from the lawsuit because the court found it is not a separate legal entity from Monroe County. A medical malpractice lawsuit against PrimeCare, the contractor that was supposed to provide mental health services at the jail, was also dismissed in a November 2022 court order.

The settlement, approved through mediation on August 6 and presented to the Legislature by County Executive Adam Bello, passed the Budget Committee unanimously this week and will go before the full Monroe County Legislature for a vote on Tuesday, September 10.