Family of jailedOhio man sues over death

Rape suspect committed suicide while in custody.

‘Without any obvious basis, the individual completing this formconcluded that Mr. Jordan was not a suicide risk and no further measures were taken at that time.’ What it says in a lawsuit filed last week by the family ofWayne Jordan, who was awaiting trial on rape charges when he killed himself in jail in February 2016.

The family of a AKRON —

Green man who killed himself in the Summit County Jail in February 2016 while awaiting trialonrapecharges has filed suit, saying jail staff ignored the obvious signs of mental health issues prior to his death.

Wayne Jordan, 63, hanged himself with a bed sheet in his cell after spending four months in the jail.

Sheriff’sOfficespokesman Inspector Bill Holland said at the time that Jordan had shown no signs of being suicidal while in jail. The lawsuit, filed last week by Jordan’s wife in federal court in Akron, said that was not the case.

The suit says Jordan told jail staff of his medical history, which included a history of health issues, aswell as the suicide of a family member, as they booked him into the jail in October 2015. The lawsuit says Jordan denied suicidal ideation during a second health screening, but the suit says that is common for people contemplating suicide and that the jail staffdid not properly account for all factors.

“Without any obvious basis, the individual completing this form concluded that Mr. Jordan was not a suicide risk and no further measureswere taken at that time,” the lawsuit says.

Once in jail, deputies requested that Jordan be evaluated based on his demeanor and behavior, according to the lawsuit. Jordan also disclosed a stay in a psychiatric hospital six months prior to his arrest, which came after he made statements about suicide.

Jordan was evaluated and diagnosed with an “adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood.” Whilehewasmoved outof general population, jail guards never monitored his risk of suicide, the suit says.

His mental condition deteriorated in jail, as documentedinlettersandphone calls to his wife where his depressionanddespondence was apparent, the suit says.

His trial was scheduled for Feb. 16, 2016. He hanged himself on Feb. 12 and was not under any sort of suicide prevention monitoring at the time, according to the suit

Jordan’s family says the Sheriff’s Office violated Jordan’s civil rights by being deliberately indifferent to hismental-health needs and failed to train officers to look for the signs of suicide. They are asking for an unnamed amount in damages.

Holland declined to comment about the lawsuit.

Thecase is assigned toU.S. District Judge John Adams.

A Summit County councilman has proposed putting together a task force to examine howto improve conditions at the jail. The councilman, David Hamilton, told WKSU that it is in response to the death of inmate Anthony Jones after a fight with jail guards.