FORT MYERS, Fla.- The sheriff’s office was partly to blame for the death of a psychiatrist who was strangled by a jail inmate during a mental evaluation conducted in a soundproof room, a jury found.
A federal jury found Monday that the Collier County Sheriff’s Office was liable in the 2001 death of Dr. David Hoyer. But it found that the doctor himself was equally to blame, reducing the potential liability claim by half.
Rodrigus Patten was not handcuffed or shackled while Hoyer interviewed him in an unmonitored, soundproof room at the Naples jail. Patten was awaiting a hearing on charges that included carjacking and robbery, and had allegedly fought with other inmates and complained of homicidal thoughts.
The sheriff’s office will be responsible for $1.3 million in damages, half of the total $2.6 million award. However, under state law Hoyer’s widow will be able to recover only $200,000 unless she persuades the Legislature to pay a higher amount under a special claims bill.
“I’m just glad this won’t happen to anyone else again,” said Rae Hoyer, the doctor’s widow.
Patten is serving a life sentence for killing the psychiatrist.