MAYILLE – The family of the man who died in the Chautauqua County Jail earlier this year is continuing to seek answers.
On Monday, Jessie Gallaway, along with family and friends held a demonstration in Mayville seeking justice in her brother’s death.
Gallaway said her brother, Greg Gallaway, turned himself in to authorities with Dunkirk Drug Court to get help for his drug problem. A day after he was taken to the Sheriff’s Jail Facility in Mayville, the family was informed of his death, something that still shocks her months later.
“Even if we could get what was his last meal, if we could get anything that would be benefit to our family as closure,” said Gallaway. “My children want to know what happened to Uncle Greg.”
Gallaway said she believes that he was not medically taken care of by jail officials. Greg was supposed to be on suicide watch at the time of his death, the family said.
His family said they believed he was high on several drugs before he turned himself in.
“Drug addicts feel like nothing,” said Gallaway. “If they relapse they (feel) are going to go to jail for the rest of their life. It’s (drug court) just an awful program and needs to be fixed in way more ways then one.”
Gallaway’s family has hired Williamsville Attorney Matthew Albert to seek answers including if he was under “suicide watch”, and if so, how long did it take deputies in the jail to find him unresponsive?
The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office has not officially released Gallaway’s identity to the public. At the time of the initial incident, all they reported was a 28-year-old man died while in Sheriff’s custody.
Deputies said no foul play is suspected and the New York State Department of Corrections was notified.
A call to Chautauqua County Sheriff Jim Quattrone was not returned as of publishing. WNYNewsNow will update our reporting with his response in the coming days.
Leave a Reply