The family of Gynnya McMillen has filed a federal lawsuit against current and former employees of Lincoln Village Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Elizabethtown and the former Commissioner of Kentucky’s Department of Juvenile Justice.
The complaint, filed in the Western District of Kentucky on Wednesday, claims staff at Lincoln Village did not properly monitor McMillen. It also alleges that workers at the center falsified records for 64 bed checks that were supposed to be completed during the 28 hours McMillen was in custody.
Evidence presented in the case includes surveillance video of the intake area where staff members used an Aikido control technique to restrain McMillen after she refused to remove her hoodie. The complaint states that staff restrained the teen behind a counter in a location that was not viewable from the video camera.
Other details mentioned in the lawsuit include the mattress being removed from McMillen’s cell and more Aikido techniques being used inside her cell.
The complaint states that Reginald Windham, a former supervisor at Lincoln Village, checked on McMillen when he heard her coughing at approximately 11:39 p.m. on the day she was booked into the center. At that point she had been in custody for about 17 hours. It also alleges that Windham watched McMillen from outside her cell as she took her “last gasps and dying breaths and final uncontrollable movements and seizure.”
Gynnya McMillen likely died from a sudden cardiac event between 11:39 p.m. and 11:44 p.m., according to Kentucky’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner and the Mayo Clinic. Her lifeless body was discovered in the cell at 9:55 a.m. the following day. A Youth Worker called 911 at 10:03 a.m. and told a dispatcher that McMillen was cold and stiff and had no vital signs. The worker also said CPR had not been administered at that point.
The lawsuit alleges that Windham and other staff on duty at that time did not try to resuscitate McMillen.
Bed checks were completed by other staff members after McMillen passed away. Several of those checks were documented that she declined breakfast and a snack and was non-compliant.
A statement from Windham submitted to the court states he “sees so many things that could have been done that could have prevented this from happening.” Windham was fired during the investigation into McMillen’s death.
The other parties named in the lawsuit are:
Victor Holt
Youth Worker Supervisor, Lincoln Village
Bob Hayter
Commissioner for the KY Department of Juvenile Justice (terminated)
Mark Cook
Deputy Commissioner for the KY Department of Juvenile Justice
Michelle Grady
Facility Superintendent, Lincoln Village
Brent Kimbler
Youth Services Program Supervisor, Lincoln Village
Vicki Mullins
Counselor, Lincoln Village
Lashae Newby
Youth Worker, Lincoln Village
Chris Johnson
Youth Worker, Lincoln Village (terminated)
Kevin Johnson
Youth Worker Supervisor, Lincoln Village
Lisa Rivers
Youth Worker, Lincoln Village
Loretta Gaudern
Youth Worker, Lincoln Village
The Department of Juvenile Justice released the following statement Wednesday evening in regard to the Lincoln Village case:
“While we remain saddened and deeply sympathetic to the family, three independent investigations have confirmed that this tragedy was the result of natural causes. Medical examiners were clear that this child passed away in her sleep, without any signs of distress that would have prompted medical attention.”
Source: WAVE
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