BY STARLA VAUGHNS CHERIN
FLORIDA COURIER

Tia Ritch, 21, of Starke, told Bradford County Jail intake officers she was five weeks pregnant when she was booked into the facility on June 28. On the morning of July 3, she complained of dizziness and a stomachache. Later that day, she died in an isolation cell.

This week, the Florida Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held a press conference in front of the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), who oversees the jail, demanding the Department of Justice pursue further investigation into the death.

No medical
attention

"The family notified us a month ago. Our main concern is that she was not provided medical attention," Dr. Art Rocker, Chairman of Florida’s SCLC told the Florida Courier. "We’ve found people in jail that wrote statements as to what happened. She was throwing up and other inmates thought she had something contagious.

"Telling her she won ‘the Golden Globe award for drama queen,’ they grabbed her, picked her up and said, ‘You are going to get up one way or another,’ threw her into a wheelchair, put her into a medical cell, and never called anyone to see about her. She and her unborn child were found in a pool of blood."

Discovered
unresponsive

Surveillance video allegedly shows guards wheeling Ritch away from her booking cell to a cell in another area. The sheriff said they took her away because she was sick and put her in a cell where they could watch and listen to her throughout the night.

Records indicate that hourly checks were made on Ritch. Five visual checks were made on her and she was heard snoring. Jail staff first found her unresponsive in her bed when they tried to serve her breakfast.

Ritch’s mother Laura Hartwell attended the press conference and through her grief, spoke to the Florida Courier.

"She was my only daughter. The thought of leaving her has just devastated me. It was our habit to speak on the phone every day, sometimes three and four times a day. When she was arrested, she called me every day up until the incident. She hadn’t mentioned she was feeling bad. We talked about her and the baby.

"I don’t know how to say how I feel. There are days that I just sit and cry. It has been a very hard, hard time. I don’t even really like to talk about it because it just hurts so much," she mourned.

Lawyers retained

"Not only am I grieving," Hartwell, said, "I want to get to the bottom of it. I don’t know how this can happen to a person in the custody of Bradford County jail."

Ritch’s family has retained Pensacola attorney Dan Soloway. "I can confirm that I represent the family for purposes of pursuing litigation," Soloway told the Florida Courier. He would not confirm if a lawsuit has or will be filed.

Met with Crist

Rocker and an SCLC delegation met with Gov. Charlie Crist and his staff to discuss the use of tasers as well as Ritch’s death. In the resulting press release about the meeting, Crist’s staffers confirmed that no one can be denied medical services in jail in the state of Florida.

BCSO said an investigation into Ritch’s death is ongoing. According to BCSO, the doctor on contract with the jail also has been asked to review the jail’s policies and submit a report on his findings.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement continues to investigate after being asked to conduct an independent review. There is no time period on when the FDLE review or the doctor’s report on the jail will be completed, Smith said.

No one at the jail is currently facing any administrative leave or action.

Depends on
contract

The Wrongful Death Institute advocates on behalf of the families and inmates who have died in custody. According to founder Karen Russo, most families are at a loss because they aren’t aware of how government works.

"Jails and prison are a very big part of state government," Russo told the Florida Courier. "Clearly she (Ritch) is going to have medical problems because of the state of her condition. There are policies and procedure in place to deliver a standard of care based on her needs."

Russo says the contracted health provider for the system is the key.

"That provider is getting the paycheck from the county. The jail is required to give her an adequate community standard of care. That means different things on a national level and on a community level where the jail is located.

"What the public needs to do is zero in on who did what, when, and where. Is there is doctor on call 24/7? If not, why not? On the other hand, does the contract just mandate a nurse practitioner who is obviously not a doctor?"

Never again

Rocker and the SCLC urge community members to write to the Department of Justice and Crist’s office.

"Our intention is to see that no one will have this problem again, where they are refused medical service," Rocker added.

For more information about the Florida direct action campaign, go to www.sclcfl.org.