State to pay $775k to family of mental patient who died while being restrained face-down
Posted: 11/06/2012
Last Updated:
200 days ago
PUEBLO, Colo. - The state of Colorado has agreed to pay big money to the family of a mental health patient who was suffocated by guards at the Mental Health Institute in Pueblo.
Surveillance video shows Troy Geske being strapped down and left alone in an isolated room at the high security forensic unit at Pueblo. He struggled to push himself up to breathe but was unable to do so.
As a result of the CALL7 investigation, a county grand jury held the hospital staff responsible for Geske's death.
The Colorado Department of Human Services will pay the family of Troy Geske $775,000 and will produce a training video for staff on proper patient management methods. Geske's family will participate in that video.
The death also prompted a ban on face-down restraint in all state-run and state-funded facilities in Colorado.
Geske's death was one of four preventable deaths uncovered by a year-long CALL7 Investigation. The others have also been settled out of court.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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