Jail Death Settlement at $3 Million Dollars

I can't tell you how lucky we are to have Darrold, David and Mari working for us in Colorado. They continue to keep the accountability card on the table at all times.

The city of Denver is poised to pay $3 million to settle a federal lawsuit brought on behalf of the family of Emily Rae Rice, who bled to death in the Denver City Jail while her cries for help went unheeded.

The settlement is the largest ever by the city in a personal-injury case, said Darold Killmer, the lawyer who represented the Rice family. The city also agreed to make significant changes in how it disciplines sheriff's deputies and how it handles inmates with medical problems.

"We call those 'Emily's rights,' " Killmer said.

The city's settlement follows an earlier $4 million settlement between the Rice family and Denver Health Medical Center, in which Denver Health also agreed to significant changes in patient screening and treatment at both the medical center and the jail.

Rice, 24, died Feb. 19, 2006, in the jail 20 hours after she was released from the hospital. She had suffered a lacerated spleen and liver and bled to death from injuries she sustained in a drunken-driving crash. Her injuries went undetected at the hospital, and her cries for help were ignored in the jail.

Her blood-alcohol content was 0.12 percent at the time of the crash. The legal limit for drivers in Colorado is 0.08 percent.

An internal-affairs investigation resulted in three-day suspensions for two deputies at the Denver jail who failed to make required visits to the wing where Rice died and then falsified reports. Another deputy, with past discipline problems, resigned after lying to investigators about making her required rounds.

The Denver Post