EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — The family of a woman who died in her El Paso County Jail cell in 2022 has filed a federal lawsuit, according to court documents.
The family of Dezaree Archuleta, who was 18-years-old at the time of her death, has filed the lawsuit against Wellpath, the jail's health care provider at the time.
Background Information
Deputies said Archuleta was found hanging and unresponsive in her cell in June of 2022. According to the sheriff's office, Archuleta was one of nine people who died in the jail that year.
After Archuleta's death, her family filed a lawsuit against the sheriff's office and Wellpath, arguing their daughter was on suicide watch, claiming better supervision could have saved her life.
In February, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office announced a $1 million settlement was reached with Archuleta's family nearly two years after her death.
WATCH: Family of inmate that died in El Paso County Jail receives settlement
The Colorado Springs Peoples Coalition (CSPC) has been calling for changes at the jail. They released the following statement after the settlement:
This is a huge victory for all nine families who have lost their loved ones to abusive, torturous, and inhumane conditions inside our county jail in the year of 2022... In celebrating this victory for the movement we must not forget our greater calls for community control of the El Paso County Sheriff's Department through independent civilian oversight!
CSPC organized a protest with Archuleta's family in July of 2023 to remember her, as well as Cassandra Ramirez and Daniel Murray, two inmates who died within 10 hours of each other at the jail in July of 2022.
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