Family of inmate who died by suicide at Milwaukee County facility files lawsuit 

The family of a man who died by suicide at the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center last year is suing the county and claiming it was “deliberate indifference” that led to his death while in custody.

Antonio Bonaccorso died on May 23, 2023, at the facility formerly named the House of Correction. He arrived there on Feb. 18, 2023. In the days and weeks that followed, a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, said Bonaccorso informed staff several times that he was having mental issues, and staff said he was “emotionally unstable.”  

He died by suicide the same day he was placed in a segregation cell at the facility.

“Antonio’s family is seeking justice for his tragic and preventable death, not just for his sake or theirs, but for the sake of all individuals incarcerated in the Milwaukee County Jail system,” Paul Kinne, the attorney for the family, wrote in a statement. 

The lawsuit comes after six inmates died at the Milwaukee County Jail — another Milwaukee County correctional facility — between June 2022 and August 2023. Those people died either of natural causes or by suicide.

An initial audit of the Milwaukee County Jail found “dangerous suicide watch practices” in place. Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, pushed for the audit.

“Obviously the conditions in the Milwaukee County Jail are far worse than those at the CRC (Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center), but we clearly have a lot of work to do both at the CRC and the jail and this (lawsuit) seems to be indicative of that,” Clancy, also a former Milwaukee County Supervisor, said.

Lawsuit claims Bonaccorso told staff about mental health issues

The Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center mainly houses inmates who are serving one year or less for misdemeanor charges. Bonaccorso was charged with intimidation of a victim, battery and disorderly conduct, according to online court records.

Soon after he arrived at the center, the complaint said, “staff noted that Bonaccorso was paranoid, restless, bipolar, impulsive and insomniac.” 

The complaint noted there were occasions he told staff he was having mental breakdowns, and that he was “delusional and depressed.” 

On March 27, staff said he needed “supportive counseling and psychotropic medication.” One month later, he told staff, “‘I can’t do jail anymore,’” the complaint said. 

On May 17, the complaint said, “Bonaccorso reported that he did not feel safe in the general population and that he was not sleeping. Staff knew that Bonaccorso was not taking medication to treat his major depression.”

Before his death on May 23, the complaint noted he told his mother “that he wanted to kill himself.”

“Upon information and belief, personnel at MCCRC (Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center) heard that conversation but took no action in response,” the complaint said. 

Bonaccorso was transferred to a segregation cell on May 23. Correctional officers are supposed to check on inmates in those cells every 30 minutes, the complaint said.

“That morning, Bonaccorso informed another inmate that Bonaccorso intended to kill himself,” the complaint said.

At 1:45 p.m., staff performed a check of the cell and noticed that Bonaccorso was still alive. However, the complaint claimed staff didn’t perform another check of his cell for nearly an hour.

“At about 2:43, an officer reported finding Bonaccorso unresponsive with a sheet tied around his neck,” the complaint said.

A statement from the Office of the Milwaukee County Executive said staff at the center found him unresponsive in his cell. After his pulse was restored, he was taken to a hospital, but he died later in the day after he was put on life support.

“The Milwaukee County policies, procedures and practices for suicide prevention and mental health assessments caused Bonaccorso’s death,” the complaint said. “It was the known common practice not to conduct actual cell checks every 30 minutes for at-risk inmates.” 

Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel Scott Brown told WPR he was unable to comment on the lawsuit.

Initial audit of Milwaukee County Jail completed

Unlike the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center, the Milwaukee County Jail houses people who are newly arrested, awaiting trial or awaiting sentencing or transfer. An independent auditor was hired following the death of six inmates at the downtown Milwaukee facility.

An initial report was completed by auditors in October. The audit found several issues, including “dangerous suicide watch practices and a mental health challenge to critical staffing shortages and occupant overcrowding.” 

“While the jail is staffed by dedicated individuals, it operates within a system constrained by limited resources, court-imposed limitations, and a lack of essential oversight,” the report said.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Jack Eckblad, the chair of the county Committee on Audit, said he’s eagerly awaiting another audit to be completed. 

“Getting more specific with this next report, having next steps that can actually point towards how to fix what’s wrong in the jail, and having those fixes demonstrated in some sort of public process, so that the sheriff can show people that changes are being made, not just simply tell us that they’ve been made,” Eckblad said.