The Cocke County Sheriff's Office and the Newport Police Department are being sued over the death of an inmate, Kristina Dukes, who passed away following a diabetic episode while in their custody last year. The lawsuit, filed by Dukes' mother, Deborah Jenkins, alleges a failure to provide the necessary medical assistance and accuses the officers of deliberate indifference to her daughter's needs.
According to a WVLT report, the lawsuit lists a series of wrongs, with Jenkins claiming her daughter's rights were violated and that she was wrongfully arrested for public intoxication shortly after being discharged from a hospital. Dukes had been treated for high blood pressure, and her medical screenings came back negative for substances, including cannabinoids, cocaine, and amphetamines. However, despite presenting "stroke-like" symptoms in custody, it was allegedly days before she received further medical attention, culminating in her death at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Further information from a WATE article details that after Dukes was released from Newport Medical Center, where she had been treated for diabetes mellitus with hyperglycemia, an employee falsely reported her asking for drugs. During her transportation to the jail, Dukes continually asked for help. Upon arrival at the jail, her blood sugar was recorded at 360, and notwithstanding, she was given Narcan multiple times over the course of her custody.
The narrative takes a grislier turn as noted in a WBIR report, which highlights the circumstances where Dukes was administered Narcan against her will, despite already having been given a clean drug test and suffering from a high blood sugar condition. Claims assert that Dukes was left on the floor of her cell, unresponsive, before further medical intervention was sought, leading to a stroke diagnosis. The defendants are accused of violating her Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, with the lawsuit also citing negligence in training officers in the proper use of Narcan.
The sheriff's office and the city of Newport have refrained from commenting on the pending litigation. Sheriff CJ Ball stated he was unfamiliar with any pending litigation and is not typically allowed to respond to such. Newport City Administrator James Finchum noted that the city could not comment as they allegedly had not yet been served the legal paperwork. The lawsuit filed by Jenkins seeks a jury trial, punitive damages, and additional relief for the death of her daughter.
