Jail officers ignored inmate call before he was found dead in cell, Las Vegas police report says
By Elaine Emerson
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (KVVU) — Clark County Detention Center officers ignored an inmate’s call for service before he was found dead in his cell, according to an arrest report from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.
James Chatien was found unresponsive in his cell around 2:32 p.m. Oct. 18. Chatien was taken to University Medical Center where he later died. His cellmate, Lee Johnson, was rebooked on a murder charge in connection with the incident.
LVMPD said Chatien and Johnson became housed together at CCDC on Oct. 17 around 2:15 p.m.
“[Chatien] had several documented behavioral incidents of misuse of his call light,” officers said in Johnson’s arrest report.
Officers last checked on the pair at 1:34 p.m. Oct. 18. At 1:47 p.m., the call light for the cell was activated and corrections officers deactivated it, the report said. Then, at 1:53 p.m., the call light reactivated again. The report didn’t say whether officers dismissed the call light again, but corrections officers started routine checks again at 2:04 p.m.
When the corrections officer arrived, he was met by Johnson. Johnson told the officer that he was going to “end up like this [expletive],” the report said. The officer said he couldn’t see Chatien in the cell at that time but called for backup.
Johnson was escorted out of the cell and officers found Chatien on the ground with blood around his head. Chatien had apparent injuries to his head and body and was unresponsive, the report said. Chatien was taken to UMC and later pronounced dead.
In an interview with police, Johnson was described as “highly agitated” and was rocking back and forth in his chair, the arrest report said. Johnson said that the incident happened because his cellmate “was running his mouth,” the report said.
The report also said Johnson was tired of being disrespected by his cellmate so “I tried to kill him, you got a problem with that?”
Police said Johnson continued to make erratic statements and said he hit his cellmate all over his body with his fists. Johnson said no weapons were used. Johnson also reportedly told police he had no remorse for what he did.
FOX5 has requested records on Chatien’s alleged misuse of the cell call light.
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