Christopher Rogers
Chris Rogers, who had schizophrenia, had been in treatment for years, and his parents said he loved camping, fishing and snowboarding with the family at Mount Spokane. He died in his cell at the Spokane County Jail on January 3, 2018, in a wing for people with mental illness, and county news releases said he hanged himself with bed sheets. His parents said he had been bullied at school and had few friends, but that he cared for his family. His estate's wrongful death lawsuit, filed in December 2020, says he had made suicidal statements and was on a mental health hold, and that the county and jail healthcare provider NaphCare did not adequately care for him. His parents questioned why the deputy who found him did not write a report.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). Jail staff and detention reports say Rogers hanged himself in his cell with bed sheets; his estate's wrongful death lawsuit says he had made suicidal statements and was on a mental health hold, and that the county and jail healthcare provider NaphCare did not adequately care for him, and his parents question why the deputy who found him wrote no report.
Reported by: Spokane County Detention Services (the agency that held him); Spokane County news releases (the agency that held him); Estate of Chris Rogers (wrongful death lawsuit) (family or their lawyers); his parents.
Lawsuit: His estate filed a wrongful death suit in December 2020 alleging that Spokane County and jail healthcare provider NaphCare did not adequately care for him, and no settlement or award is reported.
Sources (4)
- Families reeling after three men hang themselves with bedsheets in Spokane County Jail during past year - The Spokesman-Review
- Spokane County Jail removing bedsheets, hiring suicide-prevention expert after three inmates hanged themselves in a year - The Spokesman-Review
- Inmate death in Spokane County Jail is the seventh in the past 14 months
- Family of man who died by suicide in Spokane County Jail files wrongful death suit