Private contractors at a federal detention facility in New Mexico delayed calling an ambulance for hours during a man's health crisis the day before he died, video and records obtained by the Guardian reveal. James Ramirez, a 28-year-old federal pre-trial detainee with paranoid schizophrenia, died in a solitary confinement cell at the Cibola County Correctional Center in February 2022.
The facility, owned and operated by CoreCivic, houses US Marshals Service detainees, local inmates, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. Videos show correctional staff pinning a bloody and bruised Ramirez to the floor in a medical observation cell for nearly four hours. A nurse can be heard telling the barely conscious man that staff needed his consent to take him to hospital.
Ramirez was eventually taken to Cibola General Hospital, where staff reported a 'baseball sized lump' on his forehead and lacerations after he allegedly 'repeatedly smashing face on concrete'. He was sedated with ketamine but did not receive psychological testing or a blood test for drugs. He was returned to Cibola still sedated and placed in solitary confinement, as medical observation cells were reportedly full.
The following afternoon, Ramirez was found dead in his cell with 'blood everywhere', according to a local police report. His estate has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against CoreCivic, a nurse, a doctor, and the hospital, alleging negligence and failure to provide adequate medical care. The FBI is also investigating an 'epidemic' of drug smuggling at the facility, including allegations of staff involvement.
