Overview
- The Maricopa County medical examiner, which posted its finding Thursday, said Emmanuel Damas died from an oral infection that spread to his neck and chest and caused a lethal condition called mediastinitis.
- ICE’s account centers on a Feb. 19 hospitalization for shortness of breath, while Damas’ family and fellow detainees reported days of tooth pain treated only with ibuprofen and no documented dental care in the agency timeline.
- Damas was moved from a hospital near the Florence detention center to John C. Lincoln Medical Center in Phoenix, then to Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, where he died on March 2 after being placed on a ventilator.
- The examiner’s website lists the cause as complications of severe dental disease and calls the manner of death natural, and the office says the full report is still pending release.
- Arizona lawmakers say the death was preventable and have requested Damas’ medical records and facility logs, pointing to wider concerns after 48 detainee deaths last year and at least 18 so far this year in ICE custody.