‘Preventable’ inmate death brings another lawsuit to detention center’s doorstep

A new lawsuit has been filed against the Comanche County Facilities Authority, which operates and oversees the Comanche County Detention Center (CCDC), over the death of Cari Warner during his incarceration in the county jail. Warner was booked into CCDC at the beginning of 2024. He was in custody for less than two weeks before he died of a stroke, according to his medical examiners report.

Geoffrey Tabor is a lawyer based in Norman, OK who is representing Warner’s family. This lawsuit is the second Tabor has filed as he also represents the family of Tshante Gonzalez, another inmate detained for even less time than Warner before she died in CCDC.

According to Tabor and the suit, Warner was a patient at Comanche County Memorial Hospital before being detained by law enforcement. It also states Warner was brought back to the hospital to be medically cleared for detention. This is reportedly when county officials were notified of Warner‘s need for dialysis. 

Despite these orders, according to the suit, Warner’s medical intake noted he had no mental health issues, had health issues and no medication. The lawsuit alleges Warner did not receive his proper medication, which ultimately led to his death. Multiple of Warner’s pod mates' experiences were also included in the suit. Many of them share similar accounts of seeing Warner in distress, coughing and calling on officers for assistance.

“The State Department of Health investigated Mr. Warner’s situation specifically, and flagged the CCDC for not logging or giving him all of his medications,” Tabor said. 

The complaint that resulted in the Oklahoma State Department of Health investigation came in a few months after Warner’s death. In the report, investigators concluded that specific classification was not provided, sight checks were missed, and a Medication Administration Report was not performed. Out of 24 possible sight checks during parts of Warner’s stay, 9 of them were undocumented. 

Warner’s mother, who is represented by Tabor, wrote a letter of concern three days after Warner’s incarceration. In the letter, Warner’s mother was worried her son wasn’t receiving any medical attention. According to Tabor, this letter was sent to a multitude of places, including the county jail.

“We’re talking about a person who not only needed medical care to stay alive, but Comanche County Memorial Hospital gave CCDC the specific medical care that had to happen and it didn’t happen,” Tabor stated. “He died as a direct result of that lack of care.”

CCDC’s annual inspection was completed at the beginning of August, around the same time as Tabor filed the suit. This annual inspection noted several deficiencies in the jail's practice, to include inmates having to sleep on the floor because there was a shortage of beds. 

“If they can’t even get the beds right or the showers right, are we surprised that medical care is deficient,” Tabor added. “It’s unfortunate you see the myriad of operation problems, but you’re not surprised.”

The lawsuit lists multiple times how officials violated Warner’s Fourteenth Amendment right. Jail Administrator David Weber is listed in his individual capacity in the suit. Toward the end of the 80-page document it states, “Plaintiff personally informed Weber of Warner’s serious medical condition and life-threatening situation, yet Weber consciously chose to ignore the situation and forego his constitutional duties to appropriately address Warner.” Dark Roast’s Seth Marsicano reached out to CCDC officials multiple times for comment, but never received a response.

Tabor explained the reason he’s taken multiple of these types of cases is to hold government officials accountable. He believes Warner's death could’ve been entirely avoidable had officials taken the right steps. He added they pick their cases carefully and hope they can bring about procedural justice with both cases.