DA on Mackey probe: We stand by 2018 investigation, will cooperate with outside agencies if asked

WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis this afternoon released a statement saying she stands by her office’s decision not to pursue criminal charges in the death of former county inmate Shaheen Mackey.

This comes as members of Mackey’s family and others are pressuring the state Attorney General’s office to investigate — something the AG’s office has said they do not plan to do without a request from the DA’s office.

“In recent days, people have continued to call for an independent investigation” into Mackey’s death, the statement begins.

“An independent investigation was conducted in 2018 and my office concluded that no criminal charges were warranted after a thorough investigation,” Salavantis continues. “We stand by that decision.”

June 6 was the two-year anniversary of the day Mackey, 41, of Berwick, was transported from the prison to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he died two days later. He had been lodged at the prison in Wilkes-Barre about five hours on a warrant related to a protection-from-abuse petition, officials have said.

Mackey allegedly began acting delusional, which prompted correctional officers to restrain him, use stun guns on him, shackle him and administer Narcan, though later blood tests allegedly revealed Mackey was on no drugs at the time of his death, reports said.

Settlement, video

Earlier this summer Luzerne County Council approved a $3 million settlement to end litigation with Mackey’s estate. The litigation against the county is still technically active because a federal court judge has not yet accepted it, officials said.

But the case has received more attention since a video was released last week showing what happened inside the prison before Mackey was taken to the hospital.

At this week’s virtual Luzerne County Council meeting some of the public comments presented during Tuesday’s county council meeting asked why the restraint process took so long, why CPR was first administered while he was upright in a restraint chair and why a Taser was used on Mackey when he was restrained.

County Manager C. David Pedri said Wednesday he wants to release a more extensive report for the public and is in the process of compiling one that does not jeopardize prison security.

DA’s statement

The balance of Salavantis statement:

“There was no need for a criminal referral to the Attorney General’s Office because there was not a conflict of interest and we had sufficient prosecutorial resources to handle the case. On our own initiative in 2018, we requested that federal authorities review this case for possible federal violations, which we would not have jurisdiction to prosecute. Since the public release of an excerpt of surveillance video, we invited federal authorities to again review this case for federal violations. Our office has always cooperated with state and federal law enforcement agencies on all criminal investigations. We will fully cooperate with any state or federal law enforcement agency — as we always have — that requests to review the facts and conclusions of our original investigation.”

County review

County Manager C. David Pedri said Thursday he is exploring options for a possible outside review of the Mackey matter to determine if procedures and protocols were followed and whether revisions are warranted.

The county performed a similar review after four female inmate deaths.

Pedri said he was researching experts and other government entities that provide such assistance and may have an announcement on Friday. He stressed no plan is finalized because he must determine possible costs and availability.