Judge won’t dismiss lawsuit against Springfield police, Hampden County sheriff on behalf of woman who died in custody
Updated May 07, 8:58 PM;
Posted May 07, 3:35 PM
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SPRINGFIELD “I can’t breathe. I’m in so much pain right now,” were the words Madelyn Linsenmeir uttered days before her death following her arrest by Springfield police in 2018.
According to a lawsuit filed last year in U.S. District Court, her pleas for help went unheeded by both Springfield police and staff at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center, where she ultimately died from a heart infection.
A federal judge this week refused to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Linsenmeir’s family against the city and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, rejecting arguments by attorneys for both.
Springfield police test high-tech approach to prisoner safety with Custody Protect program
Updated Dec 16, 2020;
Posted Dec 16, 2020
Images of a proposed Custom Protect device that will be used by Springfield police in a trial beginning next month
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SPRINGFIELD The city’s police department is launching a pilot program with a Silicon Valley company to remotely track the vital signs of people in custody, becoming possibly the first police department in the country to use technology that way.
Officials this week announced the start of a limited trial with 4Sight Labs of San Francisco for the company’s Custody Protect system, which is designed to check the heart rate and respiration of people in custody. The system alerts officers and their supervisors if a medical emergency arises.