Jefferson County sheriff's deputies cleared in death of drug inmate

Jefferson County sheriff's deputies have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the death of an inmate, Ashley Raisbeck, who was in a drug treatment protocol when she died last year.

Raisbeck was 27 when she was arrested last December by Wheat Ridge police on a warrant for making a false statement. She pleaded guilty and began a 28-day sentence in the Jefferson County Jail. At the time of her arrest, she was in possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

According to a letter from Jeffco District Attorney Alexis King, Raisbeck admitted during her admission that she had smoked “50 fentanyl pills per day for the past eight and a half years” and had used methamphetamine. and fentanyl the day before his arrest. She was medically cleared to be incarcerated. “She appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and showed visible signs of withdrawal,” was placed on a detox protocol and given her own cell.

Three days after her arrest, on the day of her death, officers reported that Raisbeck was still in rehab “looking exhausted and exhausted.” She had difficulty standing and stumbled during morning roll call. Raisbeck told a deputy she was fine, according to the district attorney.

Raisbeck was put on a clear liquid diet and deputies encouraged her to hydrate. His blood pressure was so low that a nurse was unable to measure it. Raisbeck was being transferred to the medical unit in a wheelchair when “her head fell back and she became unconscious.”

Medical staff gave him intravenous fluids and several doses of Narcan and called an ambulance. Raisbeck became unconscious during the ride to St. Anthony Hospital and was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival.

A toxicology report found Raisbeck had methamphetamine and norfentanyl in his system at the time of his death. The coroner ruled that her death was caused by “complications of intussusception,” an intestinal disorder. The death was ruled of natural causes.

“Upon review by my office, Ms. Raisbeck's death was not caused by criminal actions taken by law enforcement,” King ruled.

Attorney Anita Springsteen said Raisbeck's mother was devastated after reading the prosecutor's letter. “She was hoping to get more information and more answers,” Springsteen said. “So she was really disappointed that it didn’t come to that.”

Springsteen said the prosecutor's letter did not address the hours that passed between the morning Raisbeck tripped and the time she felt unwell to the time she was finally transferred to the medical unit. And Springsteen took issue with the prosecutor pointing out Raisbeck's history of drug use.

“It seems like what they did was try to dehumanize and vilify an innocent person that they killed,” Springsteen said. “They made this letter talk more about irrelevant facts about his drug use and then focus on what was relevant, which was whether law enforcement did anything wrong.”

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.