Luzerne County Council set to vote on prison litigation settlement

Luzerne County Council is set to vote Tuesday on settling litigation filed by the estate of deceased county prison inmate Shaheen Mackey, according to the meeting agenda.

The county does not release settlement dollar amounts until council is convened to vote. The agenda says the county’s only settlement cost would be any amount still owed on its insurance deductible.

June 6 was the two-year anniversary of the day Mackey, 41, of Berwick, was transported from the prison to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he died two days later. He had been lodged at the prison in Wilkes-Barre about five hours on a warrant related to a protection-from-abuse petition, officials have said.

The family’s suit against the county, numerous prison employees and the prison inmate health care provider is still in the discovery stage in federal court, attorneys said.

According to prior published reports, the suit asserts Mackey was epileptic and suffering from a seizure when he wandered, disoriented, into the wrong cell during a prison lockdown. The prison did not properly document his medical issues, it said.

Mackey allegedly began acting delusional, which prompted correctional officers to restrain him, use stun guns on him, shackle him and administer Narcan, though later blood tests allegedly revealed Mackey was on no drugs at the time of his death, reports said.

The suit argued the county should have treated the situation as a medical emergency instead of with “physical force.”

However, the county District Attorney’s Office concluded in its own internal investigation there were no “criminal acts or wrongdoing by any of the officers involved.”

An autopsy concluded Mackey suffered from severe coronary artery disease and that the “sudden, lengthy and violent outburst and subsequent episode led to heart failure,” prompting a ruling that the manner of death was natural causes, the office said.

Mackey’s family has been posting about the case on social media, asserting the prison “murdered” him.

Board appointments

Council also is slated to make several board appointments during Tuesday’s meeting, which will be held virtually starting at 6 p.m. Instructions for attending are posted in the online meetings section at www.luzernecounty.org.

The appointments are on the Wyoming Valley Airport Advisory Board, Ethics Commission, new County Cares Commission, Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission and advisory boards for three county human services departments — Children and Youth, Mental Health/Developmental Services and the Agency on Aging.

Six citizen seats are open on County Cares Commission, which will largely focus on homelessness and drug and substance abuse and recovery. Eight citizens publicly interviewed for the unpaid seats and were placed on the eligibility list, records show.

Councilman Walter Griffith also has proposed council vote Tuesday to alter the structure of the commission board, the agenda says. Griffith disagrees with the county solicitor’s opinion that council members also are permitted to serve on the commission under the county’s home rule government structure.

Finances

A budget update is among the agenda topics in council’s work session, which follows the voting meeting.

As of May 31, the county brought in $106.7 million, or 70% of the $152.35 million budgeted, the latest report shows.

The county spent or emcumbered $55.9 million through the same period, or 37%, it said.

Election Board

With its lengthy review of June 2 primary election ballots complete, the county Election Board will meet at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Directions to attend the online meeting are posted at www.luzernecounty.org.