Erie County lawmakers are calling for an investigation into inmate deaths from water intoxication

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – An Erie County lawmaker is calling for an investigation into an inmate’s water intoxication death that News 4 Investigates first reported two months ago.

This inmate died last year. Erie County Deputy April Baskin says the water intoxication death is “concerning” and wants the county’s Corrections Specialist Advisory Board to investigate the death. The board would provide oversight of county jails.

Last year, William Hager died from drinking too much water while being held at the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden.

Legislator Baskin, who has been critical of the sheriff’s Jail Management Department for years, sent a letter to the advisory board asking that the board request a meeting with the Jail Management Department superintendent to learn more about Hager’s death.

Baskin says she’s not ready to discuss the letter publicly – she tells News 4 she’s waiting for a response from the advisory board.

A local activist group is responding to Baskin’s request for an investigation.

“I think she was misled about her expectations of the Correction Specialist Advisory Board. I think the way it exists right now, it’s a deception that they’re not doing anything other than stomping rubble or whatever the superintendent and prison management say,” said Baba Eng, program director of Prisoners Are People Too.

Baskin also raised questions about an inmate death in 2021 – the letter said she received a state report on the death of an inmate named James Ellis, who died of stomach cancer but “never received proper care.” .

“The medical care in the detention center, the mental health in the detention center – all of that is under the sheriff’s control, the sheriff controls all of that, and none of them are acting within the law, they’re not doing their jobs,” Eng said.

In our interview with the Sheriff’s Office, officials declined to comment, citing pending litigation, but spoke generally about the reforms the Sheriff’s Office has made, such as implementing a body camera program for law enforcement officers, and how the Sheriff’s Office continues to focus on mental health and rehabilitation. ECSO now says that after an inspection, no policies or standards of care were violated.

However, it appears that the County Corrections Board has been inactive for years. Their website states that their last meeting was on April 24, but there are no minutes of any of their meetings. The next corrections advisory board meeting will take place on May 28th.