WASHINGTON (AP) — A Cuban immigrant tried to hang himself at a Texas detention center, was handcuffed by guards and stopped breathing during the ensuing struggle, according to a 911 call from a private security contractor.
On January 3, a caller identifying himself as Lieutenant Paul Walden appealed for emergency help as medical personnel attempted to resuscitate Geraldo Lunas Campos at Camp Eastern Montana in El Paso, Texas. A county medical examiner ruled the death a homicide earlier this week.
“He tried to hang himself and then we put handcuffs on him and he continued to hang,” Walden said, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Associated Press through a Texas public information request. He did not elaborate on how Lunas Campos tried to hang himself or what happened next. The city of El Paso redacted portions of the call to protect medical information.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees Camp East, Montana, did not mention in its initial statement about the death that Lunas Campos had attempted suicide or been restrained. The company did not immediately respond Friday to questions about the 911 call.
911 calls provided some support for a revised version of events, and days later an agency spokesman suggested that guards stepped in to help when Lunas Campos attempted suicide. The spokesman said Lunas Campos “violently resisted the security guards and continued to attempt suicide” and stopped breathing during the struggle.
A witness told The Associated Press last week that Lunas Campos was handcuffed and held down by at least five guards, including one who put his arms around his neck until he lost consciousness.
The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Lunas Campos, 55, died as a result of asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. Unlike many homicides, it’s unclear whether any law enforcement agency outside of ICE is investigating the death.
The autopsy report said witnesses saw Lunas Campos unresponsive while being restrained by guards. An investigation found his injuries were caused by guards holding him down and applying pressure to his neck and back until his body didn’t have enough oxygen to survive.
The Eastern Montana camp was built last year to house thousands of migrants in the desert at Fort Bliss, a massive Army base just a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Walden, who made the 911 call, had been working as a detention officer for federal contractor Akima Global Services since Sept. 1, just days before the camp opened, according to his Texas private security license. Walden, 25, did not respond to messages left at phone numbers and email addresses associated with him. Akima, which provides detention and security services to ICE, also did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Shortly after Lunas Campos was pronounced dead, another officer in East Camp, Montana, called police to request an investigation into the death but was denied, according to records and phone calls released Friday. The man said he did not witness the death but was told it was a suicide.
ICE’s initial statement on the death said Lunas Campos exhibited disruptive behavior while in line for medication, refused to return to his dormitory and was placed in solitary confinement. Staff then “observed him in distress” and contacted medical staff to treat him, the statement said.
Last July, ICE detained Lunas Campos, who had lived in the United States since 1996, following surgery in Rochester, New York. In 2005, an immigration judge ordered him deported after he was convicted of sexual contact with a minor, but he was never deported. He later served jail time on drug charges and was released from state custody in New York in 2017.
Walden told dispatchers that Lunas Campos had a history of bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders and that he had vomited and urinated on himself. He said staff at the Eastern Montana camp were using a portable defibrillator to try to restore his heartbeat.
El Paso Fire Department paramedics found Lunas Campos “pulseless and apneic on the cell floor” while staff performed CPR, according to an incident report obtained by The Associated Press. They provided “advanced life support” before he was pronounced dead.
An hour after Walden received the call, a man who identified himself as Eastern Montana Battalion Deputy Chief Daniel Rios called the county Sheriff’s Office requesting a death investigation. The county transferred calls to the city. Rios said he was driving to the campground and did not witness the death.
“I believe he just hanged himself,” Rios said. But he added that he had no details and “I don’t want to lie to you.”
After getting no answer an hour later, Rios called back to ask when detectives would arrive. Records show the El Paso Police Department was not involved.
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Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.
