The City of Niagara Falls has reached a $1.1 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit concerning the 2020 death of Jose Gomez-Sanchez who was found unresponsive in a city jail cell. The settlement, which was unanimously approved by the city council, will see the city pay $1 million directly to Gomez-Sanchez's estate. The remaining $100,000 is covered by the city’s excess liability insurance carrier.
The lawsuit stemmed from events of February 28th, 2020, when Gomez-Sanchez, 33, was arrested for a domestic violence incident and held without bail on a charge of second-degree criminal contempt. During a routine check of his jail cell at approx. 11pm, officers discovered him unresponsive. Despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
While the city agreed to the settlement, it did not admit any wrongdoing on the part of the Falls police. However, the incident prompted a criminal investigation into Officer Erik O’Grady who was responsible for conducting visual checks on inmates during his shift. He was charged with first-degree tampering with public records and multiple misdemeanor counts related to the incident and ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree tampering with records. As a result of the conviction, he resigned from the police department.
Investigators revealed that O’Grady failed to perform the required half-hour checks on inmates, which including Gomez-Sanchez who was left unattended for at least two hours before being found. An autopsy later determined that Gomez-Sanchez died of natural causes with toxicology tests revealing the presence of ethyl alcohol in his system. Investigators also noted that had O’Grady acted sooner, the outcome might have been different.
Niagara Falls Settles $1 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit Linked to Jail Incident