A federal judge dismissed the claims against a medical contractor for the Eagle County jail and its employees earlier this month, concluding there were insufficient allegations that they violated the constitutional rights of a man who died by suicide in custody.

U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer noted a doctor with Your Hope Center had allegedly recommended that Ian David Lockhart be hospitalized, but the jail administrator rejected her advice.

“Plaintiffs make no allegations that the moving defendants had any ability to override the decision of the Detention Facility and somehow unilaterally extricate the decedent from custody to take him to a hospital,” wrote Brimmer in a March 5 order. “Plaintiffs do not cite any authority in support of the proposition that a gatekeeper’s role in this situation must go beyond making recommendations to the Detention Facility, and must instead involve more forceful advocacy or a work stoppage.”

The lawsuit, brought by Lockhart’s father, described multiple occasions in the first months of 2023 in which Lockhart received treatment for suicidality. Lockhart repeatedly told law enforcement and medical personnel that he wanted to die, including through “suicide by cop.”

On April 6, Avon Police Sgt. Balmore Herrera responded to a disturbance call involving Lockhart. According to Herrera’s written report, Lockhart wanted to go to the hospital and wished to die by suicide.

“I explained to Ian that the jail would be able to provide him with resources,” Herrera wrote. He elaborated that Lockhart was emotional and violent on the ride to the jail and reiterated his desire to kill himself. Lockhart allegedly was aggressive upon arrival at the jail and “continually made suicidal statements.”

“I filled out the pre-booking questionnaire, one of the questions was regarding suicidal statements made by the arrestee,” Herrera wrote. “I checked yes on that portion of the form and advised Jail Deputies that Ian had threatened to hang himself once inside the jail. I was advised by the Jail Deputies that they would take note of that, and that Ian also made similar statements to them. I transferred custody of Ian” to the jail deputies.

The jail placed Lockhart on suicide protocols and he spoke repeatedly with medical staff from Your Hope Center. Several days later, he made a noose out of his bedsheet, which jail staff did not notice at the time. On April 13, Lockhart died by hanging himself.

The lawsuit from Lockhart’s father lodged claims against the elected sheriff and multiple law enforcement officers. The suit also alleged Your Hope Center and its employees were negligent and deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs because they knew he faced a substantial risk of suicide, yet did not seek to hospitalize him.

Your Hope Center moved to dismiss the claims against itself and its employees.

“The facts, as pled, reflect a continued course of mental health evaluation and treatment by YHC Defendants — not disregard for decedent’s medical needs or a breach of duty causing decedent’s injuries,” wrote attorneys for the defendants.

They elaborated that, as alleged, psychologist Teresa Haynes met with the jail administrator, Captain Gregory Van Wyk, one week before Lockhart’s death. She recommended that Lockhart go to a hospital, but Van Wyk “denied this request and indicated that (the jail) would be able to (take) care of Decedent and that hospitalization was not a viable option.”

“The Individual YHC Defendants had no authority to override that decision,” wrote the defendants’ attorneys. According to the lawsuit, “it was other Defendants that refused Decedent treatment and/or did not properly monitor the Decedent.”

In response, attorneys for Lockhart’s father faulted the medical employees for having “acquiesced to (jail staff’s) refusal to provide appropriate care and failed to advocate or act further to ensure Decedent’s safety.”

“When their expert recommendation was denied by non-medical personnel,” wrote the plaintiff’s lawyers, “a reasonable professional would take further steps to protect the patient. This could include formal documentation of the denial and its risks, escalation to higher authorities within their own organization or the facility, or even a refusal to continue providing care under conditions they deemed unsafe.”

In his order, Brimmer sided with the medical defendants.

“The complaint alleges that the moving defendants sought a higher level of care for decedent and that Captain Van Wyk denied that request,” he wrote. “The gravity of the situation and any ‘heightened professional responsibility’ that may have existed do not change the fact that, according to the complaint, the moving defendants did not disregard an excessive risk to inmate safety but instead tried to address that risk by requesting a higher level of care from the officials who controlled decedent’s custody.”

He added that there was seemingly “no authority under Colorado law, or the law of any other state, that imposes a duty of care on a jail medical provider to do any of the things that plaintiffs identify after having already made an appropriate request for hospitalization.”

The case is Estate of Lockhart et al. v. Van Beek et al.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide or other acts of self-harm, please visit 988Colorado.com or call or text 988 from your cell phone for free, confidential, and immediate support.