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The family of a woman who died while in custody at the Las Colinas jail in Santee filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week that alleges jail deputies ignored the woman’s repeated pleas for medical assistance in the hours leading up to her death.
Callen Lines, 31, died on May 12 due to fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity, but according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Diego federal court, jail staff were aware of her substance abuse history, yet failed to properly treat her withdrawal symptoms.
The complaint further alleges that just before her death, Lines was in medical distress and “screamed and begged for help, stating several times that she could not breathe and needed urgent medical attention.”
The lawsuit alleges she used the jail’s intercom system four times to notify staff that she was experiencing seizures and vomiting, but deputies “called her a `liar’ and terminated the calls.” During her last intercom call, she said she was going to pass out, to which deputies allegedly responded, “Sit down.”
Another deputy came by to perform a safety cell check and allegedly ignored Lines when she asked him to stop and speak with her.
She was found dead a few hours later.
The lawsuit alleges San Diego County’s “constitutionally deficient” practices for managing detainees with substance abuse issues was a factor in Lines’ death, as well as numerous others.
The complaint cites the 2019 in-custody death of Elisa Serna, which led to criminal charges against a jail doctor and nurse, the revocation of two jail doctors’ licenses, and a then-record $15 million settlement with Serna’s family. Serna also suffered from withdrawal symptoms that manifested in multiple seizures and bouts of falling down in her cell prior to her death, and was accused by some jail staff members of faking her symptoms.
The lawsuit also references the 2022 death of Vianna Granillo, who was suffering from withdrawal symptoms but was ignored by jail staff in the days just prior to her death, according to the complaint.
While Sheriff Kelly Martinez pledged to improve jail protocols for detainees with substance abuse histories, this week’s lawsuit alleges that any such protocols “were not meaningfully implemented as Ms. Lines was never continuously monitored for substance withdrawal, nor was she administered medication as prescribed — even though almost six years had passed since Elisa Serna’s death and three years since Vianna Granillo’s death.”
This week’s lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lines’ husband, two children, sister, and father. It names San Diego County, numerous medical staff members and jail deputies, and companies contracted to provide medical services to San Diego County’s jail facilities as defendants.
–City News Service
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