DENVER — As a 27-year-old woman's health was rapidly deteriorating inside of the Jefferson County Detention Facility in 2023, medical staff thought she was experiencing a drug overdose, according to a 911 call and video reviewed by Denver7.
However, according to a new federal lawsuit, Ashley Jo Raisbeck's family believes her death was due to complications caused by a lifelong allergy — an allergy they claim medical staff at the Jefferson County Jail ignored.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) has previously said that Raisbeck was booked into jail on Dec. 13, 2023 after being arrested by the Wheat Ridge Police Department on a warrant for false reporting. Raisbeck pleaded guilty to the charge the following day, and was starting her 28-day jail sentence at the time of her death.
Raisbeck was on a "detox protocol" for alcohol, opiates, and benzodiazepines, according to the investigation from the First Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).
The CIRT investigation found "no evidence that law enforcement engaged in any criminal conduct that caused the death of Ms. Raisbeck."
On the day of her death, medical staff appeared to have believed Raisbeck was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, according to the CIRT investigation. She was taken to the medical unit in a wheelchair, with her head falling backwards as she became unresponsive. Medical staff administered Narcan to Raisbeck.
“At that time, the narrative that this had to do with a drug overdose, the false narrative that this had to do with fentanyl, began," said Anita Springsteen, the civil rights attorney representing Raisbeck's family. "I have spoken to a medical doctor who thought, who opined, that this level of medical negligence is potentially criminal.”
According to Raisbeck's autopsy report, her cause of death was complications of intussusception, which is essentially an issue with her intestines. The forensic pathologist determined her manner of death was natural.
The federal filing alleges Raisbeck was "poisoned and overdosed" with a synthetic kind of penicillin she was given while in the jail.
In addition, the lawsuit argues Raisbeck's death was "wholly preventable because jail medical records flagged the allergy."
"Defendants caused the medical crisis with a blunder so far below the medical standard of care that a lay person could easily identify the liability," the complaint reads. "And after causing the crisis, Defendants ignored Ms. Raisbeck’s declining condition, obvious severe dehydration, concerning vital signs, pain, cramping, black vomit, low blood pressure, bowel obstruction, cramping, neurological, and other obvious symptoms of life threatening illness — for four days."
"The investigation was inadequate," Springsteen said about the results of the CIRT investigation. "I don't know if the investigators had medical backgrounds, but they certainly missed the fact that Ashley was administered a medication that she was allergic to.”
Raisbeck's mother, Jamie, never thought her daughter received adequate medical attention from the staff within the jail before her death.
"They're not paying attention to if somebody's allergic or not, and there needs to be some type of accountability here," Jamie said.
Jamie told Denver7 she was actually relieved when her daughter was arrested at first near the end of 2023, thinking it meant she would be safe.
“From day one, I said my daughter was an addict. That has not been a secret. Life happened to her," Jamie said. "She deserved better.”
Crime
Families of inmates who died at JeffCo Jail believe there's a concerning pattern
Jamie was hopeful that her daughter would head straight to rehab after her time in the jail, but said on Dec. 16 — the day her daughter died — she knew something was wrong.
“That type of loss is something you don't come back from," Raisbeck said. "I have to be strong. I have to be her voice. I cannot let her death be in vain.”
Jamie is planning a candlelight vigil for her daughter outside of the jail next Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Both Jefferson County and the sheriff's office declined to comment on the lawsuit.
According to JCSO data, three people have died while incarcerated in the jail each year since 2023.
