I never met Daniel “Danny” Foard. I first read about him in The Durango Herald after his death, when his parents filed a lawsuit against the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and others for negligence (Herald, July 23). He was only 32.
As a former educator and mental health counselor, I have worked with children, adolescents, adults and older people across several states. From my professional perspective, Daniel’s death was preventable and utterly tragic.
Daniel died while in pretrial custody at the La Plata County Jail. In a video taken shortly before his death, he can be heard saying, “Oh my god,” “I’m throwing up blood” and “I’m going to die.” He knew he was in crisis, yet he never received the medical care that could have saved him. Instead, according to his family’s complaint, he was left in the hands of jail staff members and contracted nurses from Southern Health Partners who were neither qualified nor responsive to his condition. The right thing to do – the obvious thing – would have been to send him to the hospital.
I did not know Daniel personally. But I, too, spent time in Holding Cell 4 at the La Plata County Jail. My situation was very different. A dispute in a store ended with me arrested after police sided with the other party’s version of events. I was jailed overnight and into the next day. While I was treated with indifference and disrespect at times, I walked out alive. Daniel did not. I serve probation for a misdemeanor, but I still get to live my life. He never got that chance.
And yet, in another sense, I did know him. Like Daniel, I moved from the East Coast to Durango. Like Daniel, I loved the outdoors, the mountains and dogs. Like Daniel, I loved music. I’ve been a guitarist, singer and songwriter for over 30 years. Had I crossed paths with him, I imagine we might have played guitar together by the Animas River, talking about songs and chord progressions. I know I would have liked him.
But I will never get that chance. He is gone – because when he needed help most, people looked the other way. Too often, those in custody are seen only as criminals, undeserving of care. Daniel may have struggled with opioids, but addiction is not a moral failing – it is a disease that alters brain chemistry. Treatment, not neglect, is what he needed. He wasn’t a violent offender. He wasn’t a threat. He was a young man full of potential whose life was cut short.
I will not launch into a broad tirade about the criminal justice system here. There are countless cases like Daniel’s, and you can find them online. What matters is that we remember him – who he was, how he died and what was lost.
We must not forget that Daniel Foard was 32 years old, with his whole future ahead of him. We must not forget that his family, friends and co-workers at Steamworks miss him every day. We must not forget that his death was needless and preventable. He was not collateral damage.
I am sorry I never met Daniel. I am sorry I will never sit by the river and play music with him. I am sorry for his family’s loss. But I know this: I will not forget him. And neither should you.
Jonathan A. Schwartz, MS, is a mental health counselor in Durango.
