MONROE - The parents of a teen who died unexpectedly while incarcerated in the Green County jail have filed a notice of their intent to sue the county for his death.
The claim alleges wrongful death and seeks to make claims against local and state governmental bodies, officers, agents or employees.
A detective with the Monroe Police Department is still investigating the death of Kyle Peotter, 17. Peotter was found unresponsive and not breathing in his cell bed shortly before 6 a.m. on Jan. 30 and pronounced dead at the jail. Early reports ruled out suicide or homicide and attributed the death to a "medical condition."
Toxicology tests showed Peotter died of a methadone overdose, according to his step-father Michael DeGraff. Coroner Kris Hasse has declined to confirm this, citing the pending investigation. Methadone is a synthetic opiate used to treat severe chronic pain and heroin dependence. It is not allowed in the Green County Jail.
How Peotter may have found methadone remains a mystery to DeGraff. Peotter was "perfectly healthy," had no history of using hard drugs and was not allowed out on work-release into situations where he could have obtained methadone and smuggled it into the jail. He also didn't have contact with inmates allowed out on work-release, DeGraff said.
DeGraff and Peotter's mother, Amber DeGraff, recently filed their claim notice with the county, in accordance with laws stipulating that anyone planning to sue a government body first file a notice of intent. The Auditing, Bonds and Claims Committee reviewed the document in a closed session at its monthly meeting Friday, Aug. 16.
"We have 120 days to look at the claim and talk to the attorneys," said committee member Sue Disch.
She and Ronald Wolter, the only other committee member present, made a motion to recommend that the county "disallow" the claim. A final decision is referred to the full board of supervisors at their September meeting.
Allowing or disallowing a claim is simply a legal procedure regarding the time frame on a case and makes no explicit comment on the content of the claim. Disallowing shortens the time the DeGraffs have to file their civil action against the county from two years to six months. They're working with Jefferson-based attorney Michael C. Witt.
"Somebody needs to be held responsible," Amber DeGraff said. "I just really want to know what happened to my son."
Peotter had already been in the jail five months when he died. He was jailed Sept. 27 after getting picked up in Monroe on felony charges of vehicle theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was held on a $500 cash bond and $1,500 signature bond, or a $2,000 signature bond if his mother agreed to co-sign it, according to court records.
His criminal arrest came after a summer of numerous run-ins with Monroe police for minor infractions such as drawing graffiti in Recreation Park, being disorderly and trespassing.
When he got locked up in late September, the DeGraffs told their son they wouldn't bail him out. They hoped jail would straighten him out.
"That is really what has hit us the hardest," Michael DeGraff said. "We figured he'd be safe."
The investigation into Peotter's death has already led to one significant change at the jail. In May, a county committee approved the purchase of a $5,900 software system that digitally tracks the hourly cell checks jail deputies make on inmates.
Sheriff Jeff Skatrud said the Peotter investigation revealed a need for more accuracy. "We need to be more exact," he told the committee. The new system gives a "real time, exact time of who, when and where."
The claim alleges wrongful death and seeks to make claims against local and state governmental bodies, officers, agents or employees.
A detective with the Monroe Police Department is still investigating the death of Kyle Peotter, 17. Peotter was found unresponsive and not breathing in his cell bed shortly before 6 a.m. on Jan. 30 and pronounced dead at the jail. Early reports ruled out suicide or homicide and attributed the death to a "medical condition."
Toxicology tests showed Peotter died of a methadone overdose, according to his step-father Michael DeGraff. Coroner Kris Hasse has declined to confirm this, citing the pending investigation. Methadone is a synthetic opiate used to treat severe chronic pain and heroin dependence. It is not allowed in the Green County Jail.
How Peotter may have found methadone remains a mystery to DeGraff. Peotter was "perfectly healthy," had no history of using hard drugs and was not allowed out on work-release into situations where he could have obtained methadone and smuggled it into the jail. He also didn't have contact with inmates allowed out on work-release, DeGraff said.
DeGraff and Peotter's mother, Amber DeGraff, recently filed their claim notice with the county, in accordance with laws stipulating that anyone planning to sue a government body first file a notice of intent. The Auditing, Bonds and Claims Committee reviewed the document in a closed session at its monthly meeting Friday, Aug. 16.
"We have 120 days to look at the claim and talk to the attorneys," said committee member Sue Disch.
She and Ronald Wolter, the only other committee member present, made a motion to recommend that the county "disallow" the claim. A final decision is referred to the full board of supervisors at their September meeting.
Allowing or disallowing a claim is simply a legal procedure regarding the time frame on a case and makes no explicit comment on the content of the claim. Disallowing shortens the time the DeGraffs have to file their civil action against the county from two years to six months. They're working with Jefferson-based attorney Michael C. Witt.
"Somebody needs to be held responsible," Amber DeGraff said. "I just really want to know what happened to my son."
Peotter had already been in the jail five months when he died. He was jailed Sept. 27 after getting picked up in Monroe on felony charges of vehicle theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was held on a $500 cash bond and $1,500 signature bond, or a $2,000 signature bond if his mother agreed to co-sign it, according to court records.
His criminal arrest came after a summer of numerous run-ins with Monroe police for minor infractions such as drawing graffiti in Recreation Park, being disorderly and trespassing.
When he got locked up in late September, the DeGraffs told their son they wouldn't bail him out. They hoped jail would straighten him out.
"That is really what has hit us the hardest," Michael DeGraff said. "We figured he'd be safe."
The investigation into Peotter's death has already led to one significant change at the jail. In May, a county committee approved the purchase of a $5,900 software system that digitally tracks the hourly cell checks jail deputies make on inmates.
Sheriff Jeff Skatrud said the Peotter investigation revealed a need for more accuracy. "We need to be more exact," he told the committee. The new system gives a "real time, exact time of who, when and where."