In Gainesville Florida, a mother is in mourning after losing her child she had while in jail, with no assistance from medical staff or officers.
Erica Thompson was arrested due to two active warrant charges and was also 6 months pregnant at the time of her arrest.
She told CBS4 news “I basically held my baby all night until she died until she turned blue.”
According to CBS 4
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said, Monday, August 9th, Erica Thompson was arrested for two active warrant charges of felony violation of probation and failure to appear on a traffic charge.
Thompson said she was placed in Alachua County Jail. She said she told the nurse she was having contractions, but no one took her seriously. “I’m steady like, I’m going to have my baby.
I’m screaming. I’m going to have my baby, please get me out of here.
I feel like I’m going to have my baby. When I said that, I felt like all bets where off, everybody needs to be coming in here trying to check on me and see what’s going on.
I’ve had kids before, so I know exactly how it feels. I’m about to have my baby, I’m not just talking,” she said.
Thompson said she gave birth to a baby girl at 11pm Monday, August 9th, in the jail cell all alone.
“My baby was already laying on my stomach at that point, and she [the nurse] had them clip and cut the umbilical cord and stuff, but there was no medical help,” she said.
Thompson was six months pregnant. She said her daughter was alive when she was transported to the hospital, but doctors told her, the baby was too small.
“They didn’t even put her in an incubator. They just had her in the crib. So they wrapped her up, and they told me, she’s too small.
We don’t think we can save her, we’re not going to be able to do anything,” she recalls.
Thompson said it was hours before her daughter died, and she believes she could have survived if the medical staff did more.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Kaley Behl said this is an ongoing investigation, so they are limited on details they can provide.
“Our entire agency is very saddened by what Ms. Thompson had to experience.
We absolutely realize how traumatizing and heartbreaking it is to lose a child, and we are deeply saddened, and we grieve with her in the loss of her child.
We are confident that the investigation will be completed in it’s entirety, and it will be given a full review, and if there are any concerns they will be addressed,” said Behl.
A protest took place at the Alachua County Jail. People in the community are supporting Thompson and they want answers.
Erica Thompson said she remembers every single detail leading up to the death of her daughter, and it’s a day she’ll never forget.
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