Bryan Michael Penner
Bryan Michael Penner was held at the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, Oregon. On the evening of March 11, 2018, he was found unresponsive in a housing unit after an apparent suicide attempt, and he died the next morning at St. Charles Medical Center. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said he appears to have died by suicide asphyxiation and that the investigation continues, and jail officials said he showed no signs of being suicidal. His mother, Brigitte Thomas, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging that jail staff failed to identify him as a suicide risk despite an earlier attempt and failed to find a noose he had hidden. The sheriff's office denies those claims.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office says he died by suicide asphyxiation, and his mother's wrongful death lawsuit says jail staff failed to identify him as a suicide risk and failed to find a noose he had hidden.
Reported by: Deschutes County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); District Attorney John Hummel, in a legal review; Brigitte Thomas, his mother, in her wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His mother, Brigitte Thomas, sued in federal court alleging jail staff failed to identify him as a suicide risk and failed to find a noose he had hidden, and the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office denies the claims.