Emmanuel Damas, 56, died at a Scottsdale hospital on Monday due to complications from a tooth infection after being held at the Florence Correctional Center in Arizona. The death was first reported by the Arizona Daily Star.
Damas, a Haitian asylum seeker, first reported his toothache to the Florence staff on February 12th and was only given ibuprofen. He dealt with the tooth infection for two weeks before getting septic and collapsing. The family, after learning of Damas's death, informed Chandler City Councilwoman and Vice Mayor Christine Ellis and provided images of Damas unconscious and intubated in an intensive care unit.
Councilwoman Ellis, who is Haitian-American and a registered nurse, tells the Arizona Daily Star that she is outraged, “Nobody should die from a toothache. Something has to be done.”
Damas' family members said another detainee reported hearing Florence staff "laughing and saying he was faking," as Damas cried for help, Ellis recounted to the Star.
ICE and DHS have yet to acknowledge or announce the death.
Damas’ death comes just days after another death in California’s Adelanto detention. Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, 48, passed away there on February 27th, also from medical neglect after falling ill.
In the DHS press release announcing Gutierrez’s death, the announcement ends with: “This is the best healthcare [that] many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
