5 Investigates: Young man dies in state custody
By Kathy Curran
5 Investigates – WCVB Boston
May 16, 2016
Tony Dunn’s son Sam died in the rear compartment of an Essex County Sheriff’s Department transport van within 24 hours of leaving Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport after going to the emergency room for help.
Sam Dunn was found unresponsive in the sheriff’s department van while it sat parked outside the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center (MASAC) in Bridgewater for four hours.
“It’s a tragedy… completely unacceptable,” said Leslie Walker, director of Prisoners’ Legal Services. Sam Dunn was one of her clients.
“It’s my concern if they knew Sam was sick the officers had a responsibility to get him to MASAC,” Walker said. “When he was refused the entrance into MASAC, what was their responsibility to get him the medical care he needed?”