A federal lawsuit filed that claims the Cleveland County Detention Center staff recklessly disregarded Shannon Hanchett’s constitutional rights and contributed to her in-custody death has been dismissed.
The lawsuit, filed against the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Turn Key Health Clinics and three medical professionals, was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones in Oklahoma City federal court. Jones allowed 21 days beginning from Aug. 19 for an amended complaint to be filed.
In the dismissal, Jones found there was not sufficient evidence showing that medical personnel and law enforcement was indifferent to Hanchett’s medical needs.
“A negligent failure to provide adequate medical care is not enough to show deliberate indifference,” Jones wrote in the dismissal.
The lawsuit was filed by Daniel Hanchett, widower of Shannon Hanchett, a mother of two who died Dec. 8, 2022 in the Cleveland County jail.
Shannon Hanchett, who was 38 at the time of her death, ran a bakery in downtown Norman and was known as the Cookie Queen. She was arrested by a Norman police officer at an AT&T store on Nov. 26, 2022, on a complaint of misdemeanor obstruction and false reporting.
The officer stated in the arrest report that Hanchett suffered from a mental health disorder. During booking, Shannon Hanchett told jail staff she suffered from bipolar disorder and lupus but refused to answer further questions.
Shannon Hanchett’s physical and mental health deteriorated rapidly after being booked into the jail, the lawsuit claims, noting that medical staff did not evaluate her for more than 72 hours after arriving at the jail and did not administer any psychotropic medications. She was observed on multiple occasions lying naked on her cell floor in a catatonic state.
While medical staff reported that Hanchett displayed suicidal ideation and was severely dehydrated, jailers routinely missed 15-minute sight checks required under state law.
On the evening of Dec. 7, 2022, jail staff found Hanchett unresponsive on the floor of her jail cell. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at about 1 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2022.
Following Hanchett’s death, Norman community members decried Norman Police Department's treatment of mental health issues. A vigil for Hanchett was held in front of her business, the Okie Baking Co.’s Cookie Cottage, on Main Street.
This story was edited by Peggy Dodd, Ana Barboza and Ismael Lele. Josh McDaniel and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
