Months before Dillon Bakke's mother filed a federal lawsuit alleging that negligent treatment of her son in the Ramsey County jail led to his death, a jail nurse raised concerns about his care, documents obtained by the Star Tribune show.

The nurse said Bakke had "obvious signs of trauma and injury" while in the jail and "did not receive proper care," according to an internal state Department of Corrections (DOC) email. The nurse asked the DOC to review documents and video of Bakke's time in custody, according to the email obtained through a public records request.

Bakke's mother, Teresa Schnell, sued Ramsey County and four correctional officers for wrongful death in August 2023, seeking monetary damages for alleged violations of Bakke's constitutional rights. An amended complaint filed last month added alleged violations of federal disability law.

Bakke hospitalized

According to the lawsuit, Bakke, 37, was arrested on suspicion of drug possession on Aug. 7, 2022, after St. Paul police found him on the back porch of Schnell's house. A neighbor had reported him as a suspicious person.

According to the lawsuit, Bakke had a visible forehead injury when he was booked. That night, he complained of pain and continued to yell in pain after a nurse checked his vitals.

As his yelling continued, officers handcuffed and carried Bakke to a segregation cell after he told them he could not stand or walk. According to the lawsuit, Bakke's inmate file documents that he had hemophilia, a condition in which blood doesn't clot normally, and includes instructions on his prescribed medication for the condition.

The lawsuit says Bakke's condition deteriorated and that he was taken to Regions Hospital after he was found unresponsive in his cell on Aug. 9. At the hospital, medical professionals found cerebral hemorrhaging and brain injuries. Bakke died on Aug. 27, allegedly due to his injuries, the suit states.

The DOC email describes the nurse's call in March 2023. The nurse, whose name was redacted and who said she no longer works at the jail, said Ramsey County jail staffers did not notify county medical staff of Bakke's condition until he was found unresponsive in his cell.

"She believes that because the correctional staff did not notify medical, his care was delayed, and his health deteriorated," according to an email from the employee who took the call to colleagues, acknowledging a pending lawsuit.

The Inspections and Enforcement Unit reviewed the case and found two substantiated rule violations, according to DOC spokesperson Shannon Loehrke. One violation involved inmate well-being checks and another centered on clinical judgments made in the jail, according to a DOC complaint report. The report said the DOC reviewed the rule violations with the jail.

In a filing last week, attorneys for the county and the corrections officers denied that Bakke's injuries were a result of their treatment and wrote that Bakke's rights had not been violated. They said corrections officers were acting within the scope of their jobs.

According to their filing, Bakke answered "no" when asked upon booking whether he suffered from medical conditions or needed care. They said that when jail staffers moved him out of his cell because he was disturbing other inmates, he refused to stand or walk. On the night of Aug. 8, the filing says, Bakke was awake and alert and refused to speak to the jail nurse or staff.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, whose office operates the jail, said Tuesday that they did their own investigation after Bakke's death and found he was examined by a nurse in his cell after booking.

"This allegation that the staff itself didn't bring [this] to the attention of the nursing staff really is not founded in the facts," Fletcher said. He said that questions of who did what and when will be resolved through litigation.

Attorneys for both Bakke's family and the defendants declined to comment for this story. Ramsey County officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Regulatory concerns

The Ramsey County jail recently drew attention for potentially unsafe conditions. Early last year, the DOC ordered the jail to reduce its population immediately from 492 beds to 324 after finding the jail had failed to comply with safety standards, finding "imminent risk of life-threatening harm" to those in jail.

The jail was allowed to return to full operations at a new capacity of 414 beds in November after it submitted an action plan to address the DOC's concerns.

Last year, Ramsey County paid $3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Miri Mozuch-Stafford, who alleged that corrections officers assaulted her in the jail. The county denied liability in the settlement.