PHILADELPHIA - The mother of a 30-year-old man who committed suicide while incarcerated is suing Montgomery County, as well as corrections officers and mental health care providers she blames.
Delene Glantz filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Sept, 28 over the death of son Elliott Glantz, who hanged himself in 2020 at the age of 30. Montgomery County and PrimeCare knew of his mental health problems but failed to protect him, she says
Glantz had a history that included ADHD, depression and bipolar disorder, and PrimeCare in 2018 noted suicide risk factors like major depression and prior attempts, the suit says.
When a parole violation sent him to Montgomery County Correctional Facility in September 2020, he denied any mental health problems, claiming later he did so because he was high on methamphetamines. The suit says MCCF failed to question him.
Days went by before he was seen by a doctor for a mental health appointment, at which point a doctor referred him to a psychiatrist. No medication was ordered, and a Sept. 28 appointment was canceled, the suit says.
He called a friend to tell him he was scared, having nightmares and would rather be "in the cold" than at MCCF. His body was discovered the morning of Sept. 29, 2020.
The complaint charges Montgomery County and PrimeCare with knowing of their past failures to treat prisoners like Glantz, and cites a few lawsuits through the years.
"Despite numerous and repeated inmate suicides and suicide attempts over the years, the County and PrimeCare failed to create, implement and/or enforce the necessary policies and customs to protect civil rights of MCCF prisoners, thereby establishing a custom of violating civil rights of those within their custody and control," the suit says.
Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck is representing Delene Glantz.