One inmate died. Another is charged with murder. The prison’s timeline raises questions
In mid-December, an inmate died at the Idaho State Correctional Institution after allegedly being beaten to death by his cellmate, who has since been charged with murder.
Public records obtained by the Idaho Statesman show the time frame of the medical response for Gerald B. Cummings Jr. — a time frame that raises some questions.
It took around 15 minutes for the Idaho Department of Correction to request an ambulance after Cummings was found unresponsive on the ground, and roughly 43 minutes before paramedics arrived on scene after traveling to the prison south of Boise.
Early on the morning of Dec. 11, staff responded to a possible inmate altercation in Unit 9. At 2:26 a.m., prison staff determined that one inmate was “unresponsive” and that a second was “stating he will surrender,” according to a copy of the prison’s Central Control Log, which records the goings-on within the facility.
A minute later, the second inmate, identified as Colton J. Reagan, was “stating the unresponsive inmate is dead,” according to the log.
Reagan was restrained at 2:28 a.m., and a sergeant on the prison staff requested an ambulance at 2:30 a.m. A minute later, staff determined that the incapacitated inmate, later identified as Cummings, was not breathing.
A “contract medical staff” member had arrived at the scene at 2:29 a.m., according to the log. The prison’s medical staff are trained in CPR and automated external defibrillation, or AED, which can treat heart issues, according to emailed responses from an IDOC spokesperson, Sanda Kuzeta-Cerimagic.
The prison’s security staff are also trained in CPR, according to a second spokesperson, Jeff Ray.
“IDOC staff are expected to immediately initiate life-saving measures after addressing any possible hazard that might harm the person in need of care or others,” Kuzeta-Cerimagic said.
‘Unusual amount of time’ for ambulance call?
It was not until 2:41 a.m. — 11 minutes after the sergeant first requested an ambulance — that Ada County Dispatch was contacted by the prison, according to records obtained by the Statesman.
“That seems like an unusual amount of time,” said Gary Raney, a former Ada County sheriff.
Raney, now a consultant on jail policy and criminal justice, said he was not familiar with the details of the incident but spoke generally about dispatch response times.
“If there was an 11-minute delay between the request for an ambulance and the actual call for the ambulance, that would be concerning,” Raney said.
A central control officer on duty keeps the log and communicates external calls for help, Kuzeta-Cerimagic said.
In general, paramedics roll out in less than four minutes, Raney said. In this case, it took right around four minutes between when the dispatcher finished taking the emergency call and when an ambulance was en route, according to a copy of the Incident Detail Report.
Raney noted that in some instances, the amount of care on-site medical staff can provide is comparable to what paramedics can do, with the most advanced medical care available only when a patient can get to a hospital.
At 2:39 a.m., according to the log, “chest compressions (are) taking place.” It is unclear when the compressions began.
About 43 minutes elapsed between when Cummings was determined to be unresponsive and when Ada County EMS arrived at 3:09 a.m., according to the Central Control Log. Cummings was pronounced dead at 3:38 a.m.
A spokesperson for Ada County Paramedics, Ryan Larrondo, said via email that paramedics aim for a response time of 9 minutes or less in incorporated cities in Ada County. He said emergency responders are typically able to respond to the prison in Kuna in roughly 10-15 minutes.
The response time early that December morning was around 25 minutes, according to the report.
Reagan has been charged with first-degree murder, according to court records. In a criminal complaint, the 25-year-old is charged with deliberately killing Cummings by a number of methods, including hitting him “over the head with a coffee pot,” strangling him with a cord, stomping on his chest and stuffing soap into his mouth.
In February, Reagan was determined to be mentally unfit for a trial to proceed. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 26.
Prison review ongoing
Speaking generally, Raney said that medical personnel do not change how they respond to an emergency unless death is “obvious.”
“If death is obvious, then the need for emergency medical services is really negligible,” he said. “But if that’s not obvious, then you should never make an assumption that care could be delayed.”
Further details about the incident were denied in a public records request. Prison staff who witness an emergency are required to file an “information report.” IDOC denied a request for most of those records, saying they are exempt from disclosure.
In one information report that was released to the Statesman, an investigator noted that Reagan admitted to killing Cummings in an interview with detectives at the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
It is unclear when the incident between Reagan and Cummings began. Guards patrol the prison’s tiers once an hour, Kuzeta-Cerimagic said.
Reagan was imprisoned at the time for felony convictions of possession of a controlled substance and grand theft, according to Department of Correction records. Cummings was serving three sentences, all related to possession of a controlled substance.
The incident was investigated by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, according to a spokesperson, Patrick Orr.
Ray, the prison’s spokesperson, said a “serious incident review” began March 30 and would determine whether staff responded “appropriately.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
