Brian Tracey
Brian Tracey, 62, had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was held for nine days at the St. Johns County Detention Center in Florida, and he died on the day he was due to be released. His wife Brenda had died a year earlier, and his sister, Lillian Scharf, is still asking why he was not taken to a hospital. Reports say he struggled to breathe and lost consciousness, and that jail staff did not begin CPR until he had no pulse. The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, in its police report and autopsy, attributed his death to pneumonia with COVID-19, while four experts who reviewed the records told reporters he should have been hospitalized sooner. Armor Health, the jail's medical provider, has withheld his medical records, and his family says they were told he died suddenly of a heart issue.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The sheriff's office police report and autopsy attribute his death to pneumonia with COVID-19, while ProPublica reports four experts say he should have been hospitalized earlier, and his family says they were told he died of a heart issue.
Reported by: St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); autopsy; Armor Health (the agency that held him); his family; four experts reviewing the records; ProPublica (reporters).