Family puzzled by Benton County inmate’s suicide

Relatives of a retired auto mechanic who strangled himself in the Benton County jail said he’d never threatened to harm himself before.

Gary R. Cusack’s family described him as an outdoorsy and outgoing person who enjoyed working on cars and fishing.

Just last week, the 63-year-old moved in with his son and daughter-in-law after spending years splitting his time between Ellensburg and Idaho.

Then on July 25, he and his son argued and Kennewick police were called. Before they arrived, Cusack drove off about 4:30 p.m.

But he didn’t get far from the West Bonnie Avenue home before he plowed into two pickup trucks, wedging his car underneath one of them.

Kennewick police determined he was intoxicated. Inside his car, they found hypodermic needles and an empty prescription bottle for oxycontin that didn’t belong to him.

He was checked at Trios Southridge Hospital and a blood sample was taken before he was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of DUI.

Officials also discovered he was wanted on a nearly 20-year-old warrant related to violating a no-contact order in Kittitas County. Officials have not said if the old warrant is the reason he remained jailed longer than normal for a DUI arrest.

Two days after his arrest, jail staff found he tried to hang himself with some of his clothing.

Corrections officials tried to revive him before he was taken to Trios Southridge Hospital and later to Kadlec Regional Medical Center.

Family members said they were called at midnight and arrived at the Richland hospital an hour before he died. It’s unclear if his death will be independently investigated.

This week some of his family told the Herald they are still trying to make sense of his death, which the coroner ruled a suicide.

They said he had never shown any signs of depression or other mental illnesses.

Court records show he had some run-ins with police — misdemeanor assaults and two DUIs — but not for about 13 years.

Kennewick Sgt. Aaron Clem said police officers interviewing Cusack the night he was arrested also saw no warning sign of a mental health issue.

Cusack is the third inmate death in Benton County this year. The other two involved drug overdoses, said coroner officials. Last year, there were no jail deaths.

Suicides are something jails across the nation struggle to deal with, said Ned Newlin, the jail services liaison with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

While he wasn’t able to talk about the Benton County jail in particular, he said jails often have screening in place in an attempt to catch when people are struggling.

Newlin pointed out most people are not always honest with their doctors. And inmates are even less likely to admit they have a problem, he said.

“No matter how good the tool is, you’re dependent on self-reporting,” he said.

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 7:45 PM.