Saturday, January 30, 1999
Man dies in custody after third arrest
Mental testing was planned
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — A Cincinnati man arrested three times in three days this week died Friday as jailers were getting him ready for a mental evaluation.
Michael Labmeier, 48, was about to be taken from the Kenton County Jail to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood when he became combative with deputies and collapsed, Jailer Terry Carl said in a statement. The Covington Fire Department was on its way to take him to the hospital's behavioral health center, but paramedics took him to the emergency room instead. He was pronounced dead when they arrived.
An autopsy will be performed, County Attorney Garry Edmondson said.
Mr. Labmeier, of College Hill, had been arrested and admitted to the jail three times since Monday. He was arrested Monday afternoon by Covington police, who reported that they found him at Fifth and Russell streets with his car parked sideways in the street, blocking traffic. Mr. Labmeier refused to show them identification, the officers wrote in their report, and refused medical treatment. He appeared to be mentally ill, they wrote.
Mr. Labmeier was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He pleaded guilty the next morning and was freed after a judge counted the day he'd served in jail as his sentence.
He was back in jail Tuesday afternoon, this time for allegedly trying to break into a vehicle on Madison Avenue. When the officer arrived, Mr. Labmeier was yelling and screaming at people, causing alarm to customers of a nearby bank, the report said. He was arrested again, at 3 p.m., and charged again with disorderly conduct.
He pleaded guilty again Wednesday morning, and again was let out of jail. But he was back Wednesday night, this time charged with stealing a car.
Covington police arrested Mr. Labmeier shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday. He allegedly took a car from the 1300 block of Madison Avenue and drove away in it. He pleaded not guilty in court the next day and was assigned a public defender. He was scheduled to return to court on the charge Thursday.
Mr. Labmeier's physical health was unclear from court records. The report from his first arrest lists him as 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds. The next day's arrest report says he was 5-foot-11 and weighed 300 pounds. The third report: 5-foot-10, 300 pounds.
The last time an inmate died in the Kenton County Jail was last summer, when diabetic James Franklin, 68, was found dead in his cell. His children have filed a $1 million lawsuit, alleging that the conditions in which Mr. Franklin was kept violated his civil and constitutional rights. He was found naked and lying in his own waste.
The jail came under scrutiny in October, when county officials said the facility was poorly managed. Then-Jailer Don Younger was later defeated in his bid for re-election.
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