Opinion ID: 3194674
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gillespie’s intake and medical examinations

Text: On September 19, 2011, Gillespie was arrested for felonious assault after allegedly threatening a bus driver with a knife. He was brought to the Wayne County Jail, where he underwent several screening interviews over the course of the night and the following day. Because Gillespie had not been previously housed in the Jail, there were no internal records regarding his mental-health history. But, as discussed below, Gillespie did report to the medical staff that he had both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and that he had not taken his prescribed medications for six days. Gillespie was first booked by Matthew Mears, who logged Gillespie’s basic information into the Jail’s Inmate Management System. He was then examined by medical assistant Dawn Benette to determine whether he posed a risk to himself or others. Benette documented the examination by completing an “intake form” in which she asked Gillespie to describe his past medical history. Gillespie self-reported that he was being treated for bipolar disorder and No. 15-1524 Richko v. Wayne Cty. et al. Page 5 schizophrenia. He denied any drug use. Benette noted that Gillespie was “acting very strange” and referred him to the mental-health department for further screening. Gillespie was next examined by registered nurse Renella Thomas in the early hours of September 20. Thomas observed that Gillespie appeared clean, cooperative, and neat, and that his mood was stable. Like Benette, Thomas asked Gillespie to self-report his mental state. He denied having any homicidal or suicidal thoughts or hallucinations. Gillespie also said that he had been prescribed medication for his bipolar disorder and schizophrenia but did not have any with him. Although she was aware that Gillespie was not taking his medications, Thomas failed to request that Gillespie be prescribed anything for his conditions. Thomas concluded that Gillespie was not a danger to himself, but she nevertheless recommended that Gillespie be given a mental-status examination (MSE) at some point. She concluded that Gillespie could be housed in the jail’s general population until the MSE. At approximately 6:30 p.m. on September 20, social worker Larry Cameron performed the requested MSE on Gillespie. As part of this examination, Cameron searched the Wayne County Mental Health Wellness Information Network (MH-WIN). Richko characterized the MH-WIN system as a compilation of “mental health treatment records maintained by providers within Wayne County,” with access to the MH-WIN system “provided to all Qualified Health Professionals conducting a mental status exam at the jail.” Cameron discovered that Gillespie, who was 22 years old, had 2,334 mental-health “encounters” logged into the MH-WIN system over an 11-year period. But because Jail policy did not require it, Cameron failed to conduct any further investigation to determine what those encounters actually were. During the MSE, Gillespie told Cameron that he had been hospitalized six times as a result of hearing voices. He also stated that he had not taken his anti-psychotic medications for six days. Despite these disclosures, Cameron made no attempt to access the records of Gillespie’s past hospitalizations in the MH-WIN system. He did, however, note on the MSE form that Gillespie had “psychosocial and environmental problems” and “poor insight into his mental illness.” Nevertheless, Cameron did not recommend that Gillespie be housed alone in a single cell. No. 15-1524 Richko v. Wayne Cty. et al. Page 6