By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – It took almost five years for portions of the investigation into the death of state prison inmate Phillip Borcuk to be released, but what has been made public shows it may have been compromised from the start by Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks.
Borcuk, 34, a mentally ill man from Cornish, was taken out of the Residential Treatment Unit at the state prison on a stretcher, placed on his stomach drenched in his own blood with his hands cuffed behind his back five years ago today on Dec. 6, 2017. RTU is part of the Secure Psychiatric Unit at the prison.
The recently released partially redacted state police investigation into Borcuk’s death and a lawsuit filed on behalf of his estate reveal the nightmare that began at about 6:30 a.m. at the men’s state prison in Concord that day.
Borcuk was found alone, out of control banging his head on the corner of the cell’s metal sink after a corrections officer heard him vomiting, according to the investigation. Borcuk and the cell were covered in blood.
Commissioner Hanks gathered everyone involved in the events that led to Borcuk’s death for debriefing later that day; Borcuk’s death certificate attributes cause of death to excited delirium, a discredited diagnosis; Borcuk endured an unknown number of tasings; and there were indications from the prison psychiatrist 13 hours before his death that Borcuk may have taken drugs.
State Police Trooper First Class Stephen Sloper investigated Borcuk’s death and stated his concern over Hanks’ debriefing.
“After the duties and interviews were being conducted, I learned from the DOC investigation office that all DOC personnel (sworn officers, nurses, clinicians, etc.) or any staff who had been present in the secure psychiatric unit AT (sic) time of the incident had all been ordered to participate in an after action meeting or debrief (collectively) about the incident that had just occurred. This meeting was facilitated by DOC Commissioner Helen Hanks in a private meeting room.
“Interviews were still conducted individually with all parties involved in the incident even though the independent witness statements could have possibly been compromised due to the open discussion in the above listed meeting,” Sloper wrote.
Death Certificate
Borcuk’s death certificate, signed by the state’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jennie Duval, says Borcuk died from excited delirium and schizophrenia. The diagnosis excited delirium has been discredited and the certificate says the manner of his death was “accident.”
Duval and the Department of Corrections declined comment, referring questions to the attorney general’s office, which hasn’t immediately commented.
Dr. Altaf Saadi, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, said the diagnosis has been widely discredited.
“’Excited delirium’ is not a valid medical or psychiatric diagnosis,” Saadi said. “This is not a unique position as this diagnosis is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and has been rejected by the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine among others. In response to an article about our report, the President of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) said that they had not ‘formally recognized the condition as a diagnosis,’” Saadi said.
Speaking generally, Saadi said the diagnosis is often used to justify aggressive and even fatal police tactics as well as detract from the treatment of underlying health issues such as mental illness or substance intoxication that can be treated.
The lawsuit filed by attorney Larry Vogelman on behalf of Borcuk’s estate against the Department of Corrections, four corrections officers and three nurses, said Borcuk died from positional asphyxiation, from being placed on his stomach and handcuffed behind his back causing him to stop breathing.
Right-to-Know
The details of the investigation were obtained from Vogelman’s lawsuit and a right-to-know request filed by the Advocates for Ethical Mental Health Treatment co-founders Wanda Duryea and Beatrice Coulter. Their group brings awareness to the practice of incarcerating civilly committed individuals in the state prison in lieu of hospitalization and they have worked to close the Secure Psychiatric Unit, which is located downstairs from the Residential Treatment Unit at the prison.
“Clearly there were some indications Phillip was struggling in the last days of his life,” Coulter and Duryea said in a statement to InDepthNH.org.
“The cause of his death being deemed from ‘excited delirium’ further obscures transparency into this event. The circumstances around those who die unexpectedly while in the custody and care of state facilities need to be subject to public scrutiny and accountability.”
Psychiatrist’s Notes
Dr. Daniel Potenza, who was the prison psychiatrist at the time, said in his treatment notes that he saw Borcuk 13 hours before his death because nursing had reported that he drank a small amount of bacitracin.
Potenza said Borcuk told him he drank it accidentally and was feeling OK.
Borcuk was continuing to not want to take certain medications, but said he would take gabapentin that night, Potenza wrote.
“He is organized, well groomed has no ai, denies self-harm thoughts. He has no thoughts of harming others,” Potenza wrote adding that Borcuk denied paranoia and was cooperative.
Under assessment Potenza wrote “unusual situation, there was some suspicion of drug use, he does not have a delirium… We are going to observe him carefully during the night.”
According to the lawsuit, there were problems at the prison during that time of inmates/patients hoarding medication to take later.
Dec. 6, 2017
The state Department of Corrections press release the day Borcuk died said officers found him self-harming in his cell early that morning and tried to stop him.
A corrections officer heard Borcuk vomiting and found him alone in his cell bleeding from his head and nose and continuing to bang his head on the cell’s metal sink, according to the lawsuit.
Borcuk, his cell and responding officers were all covered in blood. According to the lawsuit, corrections officers struck Borcuk, pushed him to the ground and tased him multiple times. A DOC camera battery died after a few seconds so there is no video of what happened.
It is unclear how many times officers tased Borcuk. The records show the taser was used nine times during the timeframe Dec. 6, 2017, but doesn’t say on whom or if they hit their target each time.
Corrections officers placed Borcuk on his stomach even though they told investigators they knew it was wrong, apparently worried he might choke on his blood if placed on his back.
Phillip Borcuk
Borcuk was admitted from Sullivan County Superior Court into the department’s custody in 2012 for charges of operating after being certified an habitual offender, theft by unauthorized taking and assault by prisoner.
Borcuk was born in Claremont and he is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there.
Borcuk enjoyed spending time with his family and liked to fish and play horseshoes, according to his obituary.
“Phillip, a thirty-four-year-old man with a history of mental illness, was a victim of a criminal justice and correctional system ill equipped and untrained to house and treat those with mental illness,” Vogelman wrote.
The lawsuit said the investigation into Borcuk’s death was requested in early 2018, but not provided until Oct. 23, 2020.
Investigation Delay
In a separate investigation, the Disability Rights Center sued the Department of Corrections soon after Borcuk’s death to obtain information for its probe.
At the time, DRC attorney Andrew Milne said the center was investigating the possible role of abuse and neglect in Borcuk’s death and focusing on questions about the adequacy of staffing on the unit and staff use of force and restraint. A federal judge ordered the investigation be turned over to the DRC. That investigation has remained confidential.
The Disability Rights Center is a statewide nonprofit that is federally authorized to investigate possible violations of the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act.
The Residential Treatment Unit is a specialized unit for inmates with mental illness who are unable to function in the general inmate population.
The Secure Psychiatric Unit houses mentally ill inmates and patients who haven’t necessarily been convicted of a crime, but are considered too dangerous to be housed at the New Hampshire Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital.
Borcuk’s Death
“During transport to deliver Phillip to Medical, Phillip stopped breathing. Phillip was placed on the floor and CPR was administered.
“Phillip died on the floor of the (Secure Psychiatric Unit),” Vogelman wrote.
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By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – It took almost five years for portions of the investigation into the death of state prison inmate Phillip Borcuk to be released, but what has been made public shows it may have been compromised from the start by Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks.
Borcuk, 34, a mentally ill man from Cornish, was taken out of the Residential Treatment Unit at the state prison on a stretcher, placed on his stomach drenched in his own blood with his hands cuffed behind his back five years ago today on Dec. 6, 2017. RTU is part of the Secure Psychiatric Unit at the prison.
The recently released partially redacted state police investigation into Borcuk’s death and a lawsuit filed on behalf of his estate reveal the nightmare that began at about 6:30 a.m. at the men’s state prison in Concord that day.
Borcuk was found alone, out of control banging his head on the corner of the cell’s metal sink after a corrections officer heard him vomiting, according to the investigation. Borcuk and the cell were covered in blood.
Commissioner Hanks gathered everyone involved in the events that led to Borcuk’s death for debriefing later that day; Borcuk’s death certificate attributes cause of death to excited delirium, a discredited diagnosis; Borcuk endured an unknown number of tasings; and there were indications from the prison psychiatrist 13 hours before his death that Borcuk may have taken drugs.
State Police Trooper First Class Stephen Sloper investigated Borcuk’s death and stated his concern over Hanks’ debriefing.
“After the duties and interviews were being conducted, I learned from the DOC investigation office that all DOC personnel (sworn officers, nurses, clinicians, etc.) or any staff who had been present in the secure psychiatric unit AT (sic) time of the incident had all been ordered to participate in an after action meeting or debrief (collectively) about the incident that had just occurred. This meeting was facilitated by DOC Commissioner Helen Hanks in a private meeting room.
“Interviews were still conducted individually with all parties involved in the incident even though the independent witness statements could have possibly been compromised due to the open discussion in the above listed meeting,” Sloper wrote.
Death Certificate
Borcuk’s death certificate, signed by the state’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jennie Duval, says Borcuk died from excited delirium and schizophrenia. The diagnosis excited delirium has been discredited and the certificate says the manner of his death was “accident.”
Duval and the Department of Corrections declined comment, referring questions to the attorney general’s office, which hasn’t immediately commented.
Dr. Altaf Saadi, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, said the diagnosis has been widely discredited.
“’Excited delirium’ is not a valid medical or psychiatric diagnosis,” Saadi said. “This is not a unique position as this diagnosis is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and has been rejected by the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine among others. In response to an article about our report, the President of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) said that they had not ‘formally recognized the condition as a diagnosis,’” Saadi said.
Speaking generally, Saadi said the diagnosis is often used to justify aggressive and even fatal police tactics as well as detract from the treatment of underlying health issues such as mental illness or substance intoxication that can be treated.
The lawsuit filed by attorney Larry Vogelman on behalf of Borcuk’s estate against the Department of Corrections, four corrections officers and three nurses, said Borcuk died from positional asphyxiation, from being placed on his stomach and handcuffed behind his back causing him to stop breathing.
Right-to-Know
The details of the investigation were obtained from Vogelman’s lawsuit and a right-to-know request filed by the Advocates for Ethical Mental Health Treatment co-founders Wanda Duryea and Beatrice Coulter. Their group brings awareness to the practice of incarcerating civilly committed individuals in the state prison in lieu of hospitalization and they have worked to close the Secure Psychiatric Unit, which is located downstairs from the Residential Treatment Unit at the prison.
“Clearly there were some indications Phillip was struggling in the last days of his life,” Coulter and Duryea said in a statement to InDepthNH.org.
“The cause of his death being deemed from ‘excited delirium’ further obscures transparency into this event. The circumstances around those who die unexpectedly while in the custody and care of state facilities need to be subject to public scrutiny and accountability.”
Psychiatrist’s Notes
Dr. Daniel Potenza, who was the prison psychiatrist at the time, said in his treatment notes that he saw Borcuk 13 hours before his death because nursing had reported that he drank a small amount of bacitracin.
Potenza said Borcuk told him he drank it accidentally and was feeling OK.
Borcuk was continuing to not want to take certain medications, but said he would take gabapentin that night, Potenza wrote.
“He is organized, well groomed has no ai, denies self-harm thoughts. He has no thoughts of harming others,” Potenza wrote adding that Borcuk denied paranoia and was cooperative.
Under assessment Potenza wrote “unusual situation, there was some suspicion of drug use, he does not have a delirium… We are going to observe him carefully during the night.”
According to the lawsuit, there were problems at the prison during that time of inmates/patients hording medication to take later.
Dec. 6, 2017
The state Department of Corrections press release the day Borcuk died said officers found him self-harming in his cell early that morning and tried to stop him.
A corrections officer heard Borcuk vomiting and found him alone in his cell bleeding from his head and nose and continuing to bang his head on the cell’s metal sink, according to the lawsuit.
Borcuk, his cell and responding officers were all covered in blood. According to the lawsuit, corrections officers struck Borcuk, pushed him to the ground and tased him multiple times. A DOC camera battery died after a few seconds so there is no video of what happened.
It is unclear how many times officers tased Borcuk. The records show the taser was used nine times during the timeframe Dec. 6, 2017, but doesn’t say on whom or if they hit their target each time.
Corrections officers placed Borcuk on his stomach even though they told investigators they knew it was wrong, apparently worried he might choke on his blood if placed on his back.
Phillip Borcuk
Borcuk was admitted from Sullivan County Superior Court into the department’s custody in 2012 for charges of operating after being certified an habitual offender, theft by unauthorized taking and assault by prisoner.
Borcuk was born in Claremont and he is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there.
Borcuk enjoyed spending time with his family and liked to fish and play horseshoes, according to his obituary.
“Phillip, a thirty-four-year-old man with a history of mental illness, was a victim of a criminal justice and correctional system ill equipped and untrained to house and treat those with mental illness,” Vogelman wrote.
The lawsuit said the investigation into Borcuk’s death was requested in early 2018, but not provided until Oct. 23, 2020.
Investigation Delay
In a separate investigation, the Disability Rights Center sued the Department of Corrections soon after Borcuk’s death to obtain information for its probe.
At the time, DRC attorney Andrew Milne said the center was investigating the possible role of abuse and neglect in Borcuk’s death and focusing on questions about the adequacy of staffing on the unit and staff use of force and restraint. A federal judge ordered the investigation be turned over to the DRC. That investigation has remained confidential.
The Disability Rights Center is a statewide nonprofit that is federally authorized to investigate possible violations of the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act.
The Residential Treatment Unit is a specialized unit for inmates with mental illness who are unable to function in the general inmate population.
The Secure Psychiatric Unit houses mentally ill inmates and patients who haven’t necessarily been convicted of a crime, but are considered too dangerous to be housed at the New Hampshire Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital.
Borcuk’s Death
“During transport to deliver Phillip to Medical, Phillip stopped breathing. Phillip was placed on the floor and CPR was administered.
“Phillip died on the floor of the (Secure Psychiatric Unit),” Vogelman wrote.