The family of Cecelia Covarrubias, the 41-year-old Santa Ynez resident who hung herself last November in a county jail isolation unit located within eyeshot of the jail, filed a claim against the county “in excess of $10 million” for allowing the death of a woman who had waved numerous red flags in the days and weeks preceding her death of her abiding intention of killing herself.
“Ms. Covarrubias was on suicide watch and was being held in an observation cell,” stated the claim filed by Woodland Hills attorney Dale Galipo, who specializes in civil rights, excessive force, and wrongful death cases against law enforcement agencies. “The County and its officials at the Main Jail were on notice of the threat to Ms. Covarrubias’s life and safety, but nevertheless allowed her death to occur on their watch.” Galipo also charged jail officials were slow to respond and summon medical attention.
Covarrubias’s death aroused the outrage of this year’s Grand Jury, which wrote about her demise with incredulity and outrage that someone who had issued so many warnings could have been placed in an isolation cell with a telephone equipped with a 12-inch telephone cord. Covarrubias — arrested on November 8 while under the influence after reportedly ramming a law enforcement vehicle while attempting to escape — was found in her cell on November 13 with that cord wrapped around her neck…