Jury seated in federal trial over Calumet County Jail death

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A federal trial begins Monday in Green Bay concerning a young man who died at the Calumet County Jail.

A federal jury of 4 men and 4 women was selected Monday morning out of a pool of more than 23.

The jury will decide the outcome of a lawsuit by the estate of Demetrius Stephenson, who took his own life in 2019 after spending three months at the jail.

His estate filed the federal lawsuit in 2022, alleging Stephenson had serious mental health issues and that Calumet County and three social workers violated his constitutional rights by failing to provide treatment.

According to court documents, authorities arrested Stephenson in May 2019 for theft of movable property and operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent.

He couldn’t post the cash bail and reported feeling sad, depressed and, at times, suicidal while behind bars. Jail staff also indicated concerns.

U.S. Judge William Griesbach says the reason this can go to trial is because Stephenson was not an inmate -- he was a pre-trial detainee -- and as such was entitled to the protection of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the right to due process.

The judge says this could lead a jury to consider in this case whether that includes a right to medical care and protection from self-harm.

The estate alleges Stephenson was only seen on a crisis basis, that he was never formally assessed, and that Calumet County had no policy in place at the jail to respond or train staff how to assess mental health and evaluate the need for medication.

Attorneys for Calumet County expressed their condolences over Stephenson’s death and told Action 2 News the county and jail staff did their best to help him.

A jury will now decide whether Calumet County and/or any of the three employees were unreasonable in their response to his mental health needs and whether they failed to act on Stephenson’s risk of suicide.

We’ll bring you updates on this case as they develop.