A former inmate at the Milwaukee County Jail is seeking $8.5 million dollars in damages after her newborn baby died in a jail cell in July.
Shadé Swayzer has filed a notice of claim against the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and alleges that jail staff ignored her requests for medical attention as she went into labor.
In the notice, Swayzer’s lawyer Jason Jankowski wrote that she told a corrections officer her water broke but the officer laughed and ignored her, according to the paper. After she gave birth around 4 a.m. on July 14, Swayzer allegedly did not receive medical attention until 6 a.m. Her child was declared dead later that day, the Journal Sentinel reports.
Shortly after the baby’s death, the sheriff’s office said in a statement that Swayzer never told officers she was going into labor, according to the Journal Sentinel. The Milwaukee County Jail is overseen by Sheriff David Clarke, a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, who is reportedly under consideration to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Since July, an autopsy has been performed on the baby but results have not been released, according to the Journal Sentinel.
- Inside the Massive Effort to Change the Way Kids Are Taught to Read
- Dubai's Real Estate Market is Booming. One Company is Making It Possible to Invest From Anywhere in the World
- How to Exercise When It's Really Hot Outside
- A New Documentary Sheds Light on a Pivotal Movement in Asian American History
- Far From Home: Afghan Women are Attempting to Build New Lives Abroad
- What Experts Say About How Valuable The Inflation Reduction Act's Green Subsidies Will Be
- What to Know About Long COVID in Kids
- Want to Do More Good? This Movement Might Have the Answer
