A 29-year-old Olympia woman remains in critical condition after jail medical staff attributed her deteriorating symptoms to drug withdrawal for three days before she was hospitalized, the Thurston County Sheriff's Office disclosed Wednesday, Aug. 19.
The agency fired the nurse responsible for the woman's care and asked the Mason County Sheriff's Office to conduct an independent investigation into what went wrong.
Law enforcement booked the woman into the Thurston County Jail on Aug. 10 on an outstanding warrant.
After booking, medical staff evaluated her and concluded she was experiencing narcotics withdrawal, according to a TCSO news release reported by The Olympian. Her condition worsened over the next three days.
On the evening of Aug. 13, staff transported her to a local hospital. She was later transferred to a second facility for what the sheriff's office described as a higher level of care. As of Aug. 19, she remained in critical condition.
TCSO spokesperson Lt. Cameron Simper told The Olympian he could not share personal medical information about the woman's actual condition and said he would follow up with the contractor's name.
In its news release, the sheriff's office said it takes the incident seriously and called protecting the health of people in custody a paramount duty of corrections staff. The agency said it will fully cooperate with Mason County's investigation.
The sheriff's office said it would not provide additional information.
Background on the warrant
The woman was originally charged March 19 with second-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief. Those charges stemmed from a March 17 incident in Eastside Olympia in which she allegedly stabbed a person and broke a window at a home, according to court records reported by The Olympian.
Officers learned of the March 17 incident after the woman's partner brought her to a hospital and called 911 from the parking lot to report she was having a mental health crisis.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Allyson Zipp set bail at $10,000 at a March 18 preliminary hearing. The woman posted bail and pleaded not guilty at a March 24 arraignment.
She had been in and out of jail since then for allegedly failing to appear at required court hearings. Her most recent warrant was issued Aug. 6, leading to her Aug. 10 arrest.
No timeline for the Mason County investigation has been announced.
