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Questions arise over inmate checks leading to Struthers jail hanging
By Sarah Lehr
struthers
The city has hired an attorney to investigate whether the police department followed proper procedures for checking on inmates in the hours leading up to the Sept. 10 suicide of a man arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct.
Struthers police Capt. Patrick Bundy found Peter Bugno, 43, dead and hanging by the neck from a sheet tied to a vent about 8:40 a.m., a coroner’s report states. The coroner has since determined hanging to be the cause of death.
Bugno had been in jail for about four hours when he was found dead.
A Struthers police manual stipulates that a staff member must count all prisoners at the beginning of each shift, which is at least three times every 24 hours. A jail officer also is required to conduct “direct in-person surveillance” of each prisoner, in which the officer views each prisoner through the cell door at irregular intervals at least once every hour.
Both checks must be logged, according to the manual.
A coroner’s report, however, indicates that direct in-person surveillance of Bugno did not occur every hour.
Bugno had been arrested along with a 53-year-old man about 4:30 a.m. Sept. 10 near Youngstown-Poland Road on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct while intoxicated. The men were booked about an hour later, according to police. The 53-year-old man was released after posting $100 bond. Bugno remained in jail.
Bundy, who was acting police chief during the time of the incident, said he had conducted a routine check of the jail cells about 6 a.m., according to a coroner’s report. The report states that Bundy could not see into Bugno’s cell from where he was standing, but that he reported hearing breathing and seeing the feet of another inmate, who was sleeping, hanging off the edge of a bed.
In accordance with Struthers procedure, Bundy called the coroner’s office about 10 minutes after he found Bugno hanging in the cell at 8:40 a.m., a coroner’s report states.
Struthers detectives and agents with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrived on the scene.
Bugno, who did not leave a note in his cell, was not on suicide watch and had not spoken of suicide or otherwise shown suicidal tendencies after his arrest, police said.
Struthers police are required to screen for suicidal tendencies and complete a questionnaire form on potential suicide risk prior to booking an inmate. Officials declined to comment on whether the questionnaire was completed.
Police department representatives declined to comment on whether protocol had been followed before Bugno’s death, referring all questions to the mayor’s office.
Mayor Terry Stocker said Cleveland-based attorney John Travis had been contracted by the city to investigate the matter. The city will respond to inquiries once Travis completes the investigation, Stocker said.
The mayor declined to comment on whether the city conducted an internal investigation or an administrative review after the death.
Travis declined to comment, citing his ongoing investigation.
There was one other inmate in Struthers City Jail at the time of Bugno’s death. The other inmate, who had been arrested on a nonviolent offense, was in an adjoining cell. The outer door to all six cells was locked, but inmates were able to go between cells. The other inmate was sleeping when police found Bugno’s body and, before the arrival of officers, did not realize Bugno had died, a report states.
The last suicide in the city jail occurred in 2006, according to Vindicator files.
The Mahoning County jail saw two suicides this year – one Oct. 4 and another Aug. 25 – which were the first suicides in the county jail in 12 years. Two Mahoning County deputies were disciplined with unpaid suspensions for leaving their posts at the time of the August incident.
A forensic pathologist with the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office conducted the autopsy on Bugno’s body because the Mahoning County pathologist was on vacation.
The autopsy found that Bugno had alcohol and cocaine in his system at the time of his death. A relative told coroner’s investigators Bugno had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and that, while he had never previously attempted suicide, he had “threatened” suicide in the past and had refused to see a counselor.
Bugno, a Navy veteran, had been homeless and spoke with staff at a Veterans Affairs clinic in August about finding housing. The clinic referred him to Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, but, according to the coroner’s office, Bugno stated he would rather sleep in his car.