SAN DIEGO - The Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board says County Probation Officers failed to check on a 16-year-old boy prior to his death at the Juvenile Detention Center in Kearny Mesa.
The teen had a known drug problem and was treated by the detention center's clinic for vomiting due to suspected fentanyl use in the days before his death, but he was allowed to return to his cell. He was then seen going to the cell of a known drug dealer.
Records show the Probation Department made 51 safety checks on the teen between September 7th and 8th, but failed to notice the he had overdosed and was unresponsive. The review board said rigor mortise had already started to set in when department staff found him dead on the morning of September 8th.
The board also said staff failed to stop the drugs from getting into the facility.
Photo: Getty Images