Christopher Lopez was housed in the San Carlos Correctional Facility. His family says he suffered from bipolar schizoaffective disorder.
He ultimately died following two seizures and:
Guards found Lopez on the floor of a cell. Six correctional officers in riot gear dragged him out, stripped him, chained and cuffed him to a wheeled transport chair, and put a spit mask over his head. They later placed him in face-down in a cell where guards later found him not breathing and without a pulse.
Much of the incident was captured on a 45-minute video. The
Denver Westword has a partial transcript of conversations between guards and an in-depth look at the case:
In the sequence, a female supervisor can be heard arriving and greeting correctional officers on duty.
"What's he doing now?" she asks
"Smells like he peed all over the place," a man replies.
A few seconds later, the supervisor introduces herself to Lopez and asks, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Why are you doing this? I can see you breathing. What's wrong? Open your eyes."
Lopez manages to perform this last task, but barely -- and that seems to satisfy those watching him. The conversation continues like so:
"Is he still on the floor?"
"Yeah."
"He likes it on the floor."
"I like him on the floor."
"Yeah, he likes it alright when he's on the floor."
This line prompts a laugh, after which the supervisor remarks, "Isn't that terrible?"
Officials gave a curious account of why they didn't report it. From the
Denver Post:
"The facility was obligated to report it (within one day). They did not. A death is a reportable offense," said Judy Hughes, senior branch chief of the health department's Health Facilities and Medical Emergency Division.
Adrienne Jacobson, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Corrections, said Lopez's death was not reported to the health department because Lopez did not die in the clinic. When deaths occur in prison clinics, they are reported, Jacobson said.
In the end, three corrections officers were fired and five more disciplined. Officials say they are reviewing policies and may be implementing new procedures in future cases.
The video of the events leading to the death of Christopher Lopez can be seen below the fold. WARNING: the video is disturbing and contains graphic images.