Franklin County agrees to $2.5M payout in jail death of developmentally disabled woman
Franklin County has agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement in the jail death of a developmentally disabled woman who died the day after she was supposed to have been released.
The county commissioners agreed Wednesday to the $2.5 million settlement with the family of Faviola Valenzuela. The payment will be made as part of the county’s insurance risk pool, and the county will be responsible for a $25,000 deductible.
Washington Counties Risk Pool represents 24 of the state’s 39 counties. Risk pools are used to offset the cost of potential litigation. They handle the claims separately from the county, though the county has the option to remove a claim from the pool and assume the costs and risks.
Valenzuela died at the Franklin County jail on March 15, 2022, a day after a Tri-Cities judge decided she should be released on her own recognizance.
Someone at the jail, who was not identified in the lawsuit, had raised concerns about her mental health and whether she needed to be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric care center to be evaluated, according to a federal lawsuit filed by her father and son.
Valenzuela had developmental disabilities and the cognitive capacity of a 12-year-old, according to the suit.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, claims there was no sign Franklin County officials took any steps to have her transferred to a mental health facility.
Attorneys also alleged that she was left suffering in a holding cell for four days after her initial arrest, where she soiled herself and cried out in distress. She was also refusing to eat and barely drank water, according to the lawsuit.
An autopsy showed she died from methamphetamine intoxication and an acute kidney injury.
The family’s attorneys say these conditions would have been completely treatable if she had received medical help.
The lawsuit named Franklin County, its medical contractor Western Medical Resources and its parent company, as well as Sheriff Jim Raymond and two jail employees.
It claimed the medical staff engaged in malpractice, that the county was negligent and that Valenzuela’s 14th Amendment rights were violated.
Because she had an “extreme mental disability and a previous use of force incident,” jailers placed her in a segregated observation cell measuring 6-feet by 12-feet. The cell didn’t have a toilet, sink, bed or any other fixtures other than a drain in the floor, the lawyers said
She was not given her medication or taken to a hospital for an evaluation that Western Medical Resources determined she needed before they would clear her to be booked into the jail, according to the documents.
Auditor staff lawsuit
In a second case, county commissioners also agreed Wednesday to settle another lawsuit filed by two of the county’s employees, alleging they were bullied and harassed by Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond.
The risk pool will pay out $16,800 in attorney’s fees and $5,001 each to two auditor’s office employees, Jeff Burckhard and Tim Anderson. The county will pay just the $25,000 deductible for that settlement as well.
The claims were filed after more than a year of conflict between the auditor’s office and the sheriff’s office over payment card authorizations and what the sheriff has described as targeted audits.
Raymond said during the public comment part at Wednesday’s meeting that he was not told that either lawsuit was being settled by the risk pool.
Auditor Matt Beaton said he was thankful the risk pool and and commissioners agreed to the judgment. While the move does represent a judgment in favor of the employees, the county does not admit any wrongdoing.
“Today, for us, is about justice and judgment. Defamation and bullying should never be tolerated,” Beaton said. “I hope this judgment makes clear that years worth of behavior that has resulted in the departure and loss of people from Franklin County who couldn’t take some of the behavior and interactions, is in fact unacceptable.”
The initial lawsuits were for $40 million for each employee, but Beaton said it was not about the money for them.
Court records show the initial filings came just after Beaton and Commissioner Rocky Mullen began being criminally investigated over a payment dispute with a former HAPO Center management team. Beaton said in a secretly recorded meeting that he tried to stop the payment at the direction of commission Chairman Clint Didier.
A special prosecutor ultimately declined to pursue charges against Beaton, writing that she did not have sufficient evidence.
The prosecutor also declined to file charges against Commissioner Rocky Mullen, but said in one case it was because the state lacked the resources to pursue a charge against Mullen for making a false statement to a public servant.
The prosecutor described Mullen and Beaton’s behavior as “irregular,” “concerning” and “odd.”
Didier was never formally investigated and declined to be interviewed by detectives.
Beaton is currently suing former county Administrator Mike Gonzalez for recording the meeting where Mullen and Beaton allegedly pressured the county leader to write a letter to stop the investigation. The county is paying for an outside attorney to defend Gonzalez.
Public records obtained by the Herald show that Raymond filed a number of claims against the county, though he has not yet moved forward with any lawsuits.
