Orange City, Iowa — The parties involved in a case brought by the estate of an inmate who committed suicide while incarcerated in the Sioux County Jail two years ago — have apparently agreed upon a settlement, and presumably, there will be no trial in the matter.
The estate of then-29-year-old Dustin Herbst sued the county and five members of the jail staff, saying they are responsible for Herbst’s suicide. The case started in Sioux County District Court but was moved to federal court by the request of Sioux County Sheriff Dan Altena and the other defendants.
Court documents say Herbst, who had been a federal inmate from Sioux City, hanged himself in his Sioux County Jail cell on January 28th, 2018, after he hung a towel over his cell’s window, blocking the view of a surveillance camera. The document alleges that jail staff found Herbst over an hour later.
The estate claims that jail staff knew that he was a suicide risk, but did nothing to prevent his suicide. The estate claims that not only were jail staff made aware of past mental issues when Herbst was booked into the jail, they knew about text and telephone conversations in which Herbst said he was going to commit suicide, and they knew he had cut off all conversation with his girlfriend and family.
The suit sought unspecified monetary damages.
A trial had been scheduled for November 30th, 2020.
According to Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kunstle, Sioux County has now approved a negotiated settlement with the Herbst Estate in the amount of $50,000. He says further details will not be released until the case is officially dismissed.
