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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Cuban migrant at a Texas detention facility attempted to hang himself, resulting in a struggle with guards that left him unresponsive, as detailed in a 911 call from a private security contractor.
The call, made by an individual identifying as Lt. Paul Walden, sought emergency assistance while medical staff endeavored to resuscitate Geraldo Lunas Campos on January 3 at Camp East Montana, located in El Paso, Texas. The county medical examiner recently classified the death as a homicide.
Initially, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, responsible for overseeing Camp East Montana, did not disclose in their statement that Lunas Campos had attempted suicide or was physically subdued. As of Friday, they hadn’t responded to inquiries regarding the details of the 911 call.
The content of the 911 call partially supports a revised account from an agency spokesperson, which surfaced days later. According to this narrative, guards intervened when Lunas Campos attempted to take his own life. The spokesperson noted that Lunas Campos “resisted security staff violently and continued his suicide attempt,” ceasing to breathe amid the struggle.
The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined that the 55-year-old’s death was a homicide, resulting from asphyxia caused by pressure on his neck and torso. Unlike typical homicide cases, it’s uncertain if any agency, apart from ICE, is conducting an investigation into the incident.
The autopsy report said witnesses saw Lunas Campos become unresponsive while being restrained by guards. It found injuries consistent with guards holding him down and putting pressure on his neck and back until his body did not have enough oxygen to survive.
Camp East Montana was built last year to house thousands of immigrants in the desert at Fort Bliss, a massive Army base just a few miles from the U.S. border with Mexico.
The 911 caller, Walden, has been a detention officer with federal contractor Akima Global Services since Sept. 1, which was within days of the camp’s opening, according to his Texas private security guard license. Walden, 25, didn’t respond to messages left at a phone number and email address associated with him. Akima, which also did not return messages seeking comment, provides detention and security services for ICE.
A second Camp East Montana official called police asking for an investigation of the death shortly after Lunas Campos was declared dead, but was rebuffed, according to records and phone calls released Friday. That man said he did not witness the death but had been told it was a suicide.
ICE’s initial statement on the death said Lunas Campos became disruptive while in line for medication, refused to return to his dorm and was placed in solitary confinement. The statement said staff then “observed him in distress” and contacted medical staff to treat him.
ICE took custody of Lunas Campos, who had lived in the U.S. since 1996, last July after an operation in Rochester, New York. An immigration judge had ordered his removal in 2005 after he’d been convicted of sexual contact with a minor, but his deportation never happened. He later served prison time on a drug charge, and he had been released from state supervision in New York in 2017.
Walden told the dispatcher that Lunas Campos, who had a history of bipolar disorder and anxiety, had vomited and urinated on himself. He said Camp East Montana staffers were using a portable defibrillator to try to restore his heartbeat.
El Paso Fire Department paramedics found Lunas Campos “pulseless and apneic on the floor of his cell” as staff members performed CPR, according to an incident report obtained by AP. They provided “advanced life support” before he was pronounced dead.
An hour after Walden’s call, a man identifying himself as Camp East Montana deputy director Daniel Rios called the county sheriff’s office to request a death investigation. The county transferred the call to the city. Rios said he was driving to the camp and did not witness the death.
“I believe he just hung himself,” Rios said. But he added that he didn’t have details and, “I don’t want to lie to you.”
Rios called back an hour later after no one responded, asking when detectives would arrive. Records show the El Paso Police Department did not get involved.
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Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.