The family of a man who died in a jail cell has been awarded $900,000 in a wrongful death lawsuit. A Bethel jury originally awarded the family $1 million, but the amount was reduced by 20 percent because of an error in instructions to the jury.
During the case, it was revealed that Hooper Bay Police Department policy called for officers
to check on the man’s condition every five minutes while in custody. Records revealed, however, he was checked on twice in 38 minutes. What were the officers doing? Two of them owned up to reading Facebook rather than checking on the victim.
