Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and Sheriff Anthony Wickersham on Thursday went on the offensive, defending county employees against allegations that they were responsible for the 2014 jail death of David Stojcevski, 32, of Roseville, who was serving 30 days for a traffic violation, the Macomb Daily reported.
Hackel sharply criticized the attorney, who filed a lawsuit, and accused him of trying to extort money from the county in a settlement, Jameson Cook of the Macomb Daily reports.
“If you look at the video and you watch it ... there were numerous times when those officers called upon medical staff to come and check on the welfare of this particular individual,” Hackel said, according to the paper. “Based on the information that we know, we are extremely comfortable with the work the officers did.”
Kevin Dietz of WDIV first reported about the case and a federal lawsuit filed by the family.
He reported that Stojcevski lost 50 pounds in 17 days and was in a high-observation unit and the cell was under 24-hour surveillance. A videotape shows his body twitching, as he goes into drug withdrawal, lying on the floor naked, and nothing was done. The suit claims the jail staff failed to respond to his obvious physical problems.
The family lawsuit states that Stojcevski had been seeing a doctor to beat addiction and had been prescribed methadone, xanax and another medication. Without these drugs, the body can go into severe withdrawal, Dietz reported.
The Macomb Daily reported:
Hackel criticized Robert Ihrie, the attorney for Stojcevski’s family, accused him of “extortion tactics” for trying to “strong arm” or “leverage” the county for a $25 to $30 million settlement prior to filing the lawsuit, with threats of negative media attention. Ihrie on Thursday morning prior to the press conference attempted to ignite settlement discussions.
“He tried to strong arm the county from Day 1,” Hackel said. “I think he’s irresponsible for what he did. He’s an officer of the court. He should know better than what he just did for members of that department because he’s looking for financial gain for the death of individual in our facility.”
Hackel said he will not allow the county to settle the case and will encourage the county’s liability-insurance company not to settle. He vowed that no county dollars will go to the plaintiffs.
“I am that confident that the work of these officers and what they did in this facility, there was no deliberate indifference,” Hackel said.
The family attorney, Robert Ihrie, denied he acted unethically, the Macomb Daily reported
“We are representing a client, and when a lawsuit is filed, who knows what can happen,” he said. “Because of the visual component of this, it has touched a chord in people, and my clients hope that their son’s death will not be in vain. Hopefully it was prompt a national discussion of how prisons manage the sick and the addicted.”
