Jailers halt suicide try

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry credits jail staffers for preventing the death of an 18-year-old inmate who attempted suicide late Wednesday night.

Elizabeth Anne Damon was found unconscious in her cell just before midnight after she attempted to hang herself from a bunk bed in the women’s section of the Flathead County Detention Center in Kalispell.

Curry said detention officers found Damon during a routine cell check and quickly had her transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment and observation.

Damon initially was booked into jail Jan. 4 for an alleged probation violation. She was alone in her cell at the time of the suicide attempt, Curry said.

Curry said she tore a strip of fabric from a blanket and tied it to the top of the bed and around her neck in the attempt to strangle herself.

“It looks like she tied it up, kneeled down and just leaned forward,” Curry said, adding that she wasn’t suspended above the ground.

She didn’t appear to have suffered any lasting injuries, Curry said. He said Damon would be placed under closer observation when she returns to the jail, which was expected late Thursday.

“The safety of anybody in our custody is our primary concern,” Curry said. “We operate a facility that is very safe and we take precautions so that it is very difficult to carry [suicide] out.”

Curry said it has been several years since a legitimate suicide attempt has occurred in the jail, though he didn’t have specific data available.

He said the work of dedicated detention officers and staffers is the primary reason that suicides are such a rare occurrences.

“It’s certainly due to the quick actions by the detention staff that she did survive,” Curry said.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.