SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Cristian Dumitrascu's daughters are calling for accountability three years after their father died in custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. A foundation working on the case released a video last week that it says shows a delayed medical response during his emergency.
Dumitrascu, a Romanian father of three, died in ICE custody after a medical emergency on March 5, 2023, at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, the facility that houses ICE detainees. Officials ruled he died of natural causes.
His daughters, Andrea and Cristina, remembered him as a devoted and joyful presence in their lives.
"He helped us a lot, and he always was there for us," said Cristina.
"He was a very loving person and a very cheerful one, so everyone who was with him was happy because he was a very cheerful soul," said Andrea.
Last week, on the third anniversary of Dumitrascu's death, the Mami Chelo Foundation released 31 minutes of surveillance video from inside the detention center recorded during his medical emergency. The foundation says it had to sue ICE to obtain the footage and that it initially received an edited version before receiving the full video.
Yanet Candelario, president of the Mami Chelo Foundation, has been working on Cristian's case since his detention. She says the video shows a slow response to his emergency.
"The video explains pretty much, there was a delayed care. There was no urgency," Candelario said.
The video has no audio. Dumitrascu's bed is in the bottom left corner of the frame. He is on the top bunk and is not visible from the camera angle. Candelario says the video shows a commotion as his cellmates began calling for help after they heard him snoring louder than normal, gasping for air, and shaking.
"In this case, the guy is gasping for air; they come so slowly, nobody's doing nothing," Candelario said.
Candelario also presented signed witness statements from 7 other inmates who say guards and medical staff did not allow them to help bring Dumitrascu down from his bunk to begin CPR. The statements also say cellmates witnessed staff drop Dumitrascu as they attempted to get him down from the bunk.
"They say, ' Back off. They threatened the actual, the people who were detained, to go on their cells or they will be punished," Candelario said.
The medical examiner's report says guards did perform CPR on the 50-year-old, but the Mami Chelo Foundation says that response came more than 6 minutes too late.
"Cristian should, could have — most likely than now — will be alive today," Candelario said.
CoreCivic, which operates the Otay Mesa Detention Center, provided a lengthy statement saying it "takes very seriously the passing of any individual in their care" and that "the safety, health, and well-being of people in their care is their top priority." The statement outlined the facility's emergency response protocols and noted that medical care is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The statement did not address the specific incident.
ABC 10News asked ICE multiple times about Cristian's death. The agency did not respond.
His daughters say they want those responsible to be held accountable.
"We want someone to take responsibility for it. To acknowledge they were at fault for what happened," Andrea said.
The Mami Chelo Foundation says it plans to refile a wrongful death lawsuit in connection with Cristian's death. A separate lawsuit has also been filed to obtain additional records about what happened the day of March 5, 2023.
CORE CIVIC'S FULL STATEMENT:
We are deeply saddened by and take very seriously the passing of any individual in our care. The safety, health and well-being of the people in our facilities is our top priority. We take seriously our responsibility to adhere to all applicable standards and policies that our government partners expect of us at our Otay Mesa Detention Center (OMDC).
Our company is subject to robust oversight and accountability measures. Our government partners all require regular review and audit processes. Our facilities are also scrutinized by the independent American Correctional Association, which thoroughly audits our buildings, staff, and services.
We have a detailed Human Rights Policy [corecivic.com] that clearly outlines our commitments regarding resident rights and treatment, including legal rights, safety and security, healthcare, reentry programming, visitation and standards of living.
Emergency Response and Notification Protocols
Our facilities have trained emergency response teams who work to ensure that any individual in distress receives needed medical care. In the event of a death, we promptly notify the appropriate government partner and local agencies responsible for conducting the investigation, with the full cooperation of our staff. Every death is investigated thoroughly and transparently, but it's important to note that the circumstances of each incident will dictate how the investigation is handled. Our focus remains on doing everything possible to prevent these events from happening in the first place through training, oversight and continuous improvement in our standard of care.
Medical Care
Our onsite health services team at OMDC takes seriously their responsibility to provide high-quality healthcare, available 24/7. They follow both CoreCivic's standards for medical care and the standards set forth by our government partners. All individuals have daily access to sign up for medical care, including mental health services. Our clinic is staffed with licensed healthcare professionals including physicians, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health counselors and dentists who contractually meet the highest standards of care.
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