- Five people were
charged in connection to an inmate's death at aMichigan jail , reports say. - Paul Bulthouse died after experiencing seizures at Muskegon County Jail in April 2019.
- The four sheriff deputies and a registered nurse were charged with involuntary manslaughter, the attorney general said.
Five people were charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of an inmate in 2019 who was in custody at a county jail in Michigan, the Associated Press reported.
Paul Bulthouse, 39, died at Muskegon County Jail in April 2019. Among those charged for his death are four sheriff deputies; Deputy Jeffrey Patterson, Deputy Crystal Greve, Deputy Jamal Lane, Deputy Sgt. David Vanderlaan and registered nurse Aubrey Schotts, according to the AP and a news release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The charges come after an investigation of police reports, medical records, and eight hours of footage, the
-Dana Nessel (@dananessel) April 9, 2021
Bulthouse was detained in March 2019 and transported to jail for violating probation, FOX 17 reported.
"Mr. Bulthouse was classified as suicidal, which required he be monitored by officers every 15 minutes," the news release said. "His cell was always in close proximity to the county jail booking center and he was always visible on video monitors."
Days later, Bulthouse died after experiencing about 22 seizures for 5 1/2 hours in his cell, according to the AP and the news release. As MLive reported citing an autopsy report, Bulthouse -who was placed in a detoxification cell- "died of natural causes."
"Mr. Bulthouse died of gross neglect and due to complete disregard for human life by five individuals who were within feet of him but never acted to assist him," Nessel said in the news release. "The safety of an individual in the custody of law enforcement is their responsibility. The lack of action taken to address Mr. Bulthouse in his time of medical need was criminal."