Inmate dies days after attempting suicide at the Boulder County Jail
A 29-year-old Denver man had been in-custody on a warrant from Garfield County and for local trespass charges
Boulder, Colo. - Earlier this morning the Sheriff's Office was notified that inmate Benjamin Fueston, 29, of Denver, died at a local Boulder hospital just after 6:45 a.m.
Fueston was an inmate at the Boulder County Jail when he was transported to Boulder Community Health's Foothills Hospital around 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, July 22, after attempting suicide by hanging. Fueston had been arrested and brought to the jail by an officer from the Boulder Police Department just after 1:00 a.m. that same morning. Fueston had been arrested on a Boulder municipal charge of trespass and also had a warrant for his arrest out of Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
On Sunday morning, around 8:45 a.m., a deputy went to Fueston's cell in the Intake Module and observed Fueston with his back to the cell door. The deputy was unable to get a reaction from Fueston when he spoke to him. The deputy immediately entered the cell to check on Fueston and found he had fashioned a noose around his neck and that he was unresponsive. The deputy immediately called for medical personnel and assistance from other deputies, and initiated CPR and other life-saving resuscitative efforts. Deputies, jail medical staff, and paramedics from AMR Ambulance and Boulder Fire worked to revive Fueston. Fueston was transported to Foothills Hospital, still unconscious, but with a pulse.
Fueston's death is currently under investigation by the Sheriff's Office and medical investigators from the Boulder County Coroner's Office. At the time of Fueston's suicide attempt, he had been housed alone in the cell. Fueston did not give any indication he was despondent or contemplating any self-harm, either to jail and medical staff who screened him as he was booked into the facility or to any other inmates in the module.
Upon learning of Fueston's death, Sheriff Joe Pelle said, “The death of an inmate from suicide is, of course, a tragedy for the family and friends of the individual, and very difficult on our staff. Our sincere condolences go out to this man’s family. Our jail staff strives to prevent self-harm, and a number of steps are in place to try to discover suicidal thoughts or ideation on the part of inmates and to prevent the act. These steps include thorough intake screening, closely monitoring intake inmates, and of course the presence of mental health professionals and well-trained staff in the jail, as well as physical and architectural prevention. Still, we cannot prevent every attempt, and unfortunately, sometimes they are successful. This is our first suicide in the jail in 2018, and hopefully our only one. Our jail staff worked hard to save this man once the attempt was discovered, and should be commended. But ultimately the seriousness of the injuries were too grave to overcome. Over 600 inmates were placed on suicide protocol in the jail in 2017. This is just an indication of the tremendous challenges our staff faces dealing with mental health issues in the inmate population.”
The coroner's office is responsible for determining the cause and manner of Fueston's death and is planning to conduct an autopsy as part of their investigation. Additionally, an internal investigation is underway, which is standard practice whenever the death of an inmate occurs.
The case number related to this investigation is 18-4278.
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/s/ Cmdr. Mike Wagner
Public Information Officer
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