SUIT FILED OVER WOMAN'S DEATH AT JAIL

EPHRATA, Wash. _ A woman who died of a cocaine overdose while in custody at
the Grant County Jail didn't get adequate medical treatment, even though
jailers knew she was on drugs, a lawsuit claims.

The suit, filed Monday in Chelan County Superior Court, alleges jailers
bound Carrie Vinson Taueu's feet and hands and put her in a room at the
jail, then didn't adequately supervise her.

Taueu died Nov. 23, 1997, of a cocaine overdose after consuming paper
packets of cocaine, Coroner Jerry Jasman concluded.

The lawsuit is being forwarded to the county's insurance carrier, said
Steve Hallstrom, deputy civil prosecutor.

"She ingested cocaine and didn't tell us," Hallstrom said. "I'm not aware
of anything that the county has done inappropriately."