ST PAUL, Minn. — The FBI is investigating accusations that Ramsey County jail guards broke a woman’s leg, then left her alone for more than 17 hours in excruciating pain in February 2021 before finally taking her to a hospital.
Miri Mozuch-Stafford, 29, filed a federal lawsuit in September alleging that the delay in treatment aggravated her injuries and required several surgeries to repair bone and tissue damage, leaving her leg permanently, grotesquely disfigured.
Mozuch-Stafford’s attorney, Steve Meshbesher, said the FBI reached out to his office in mid-January saying the case is being investigated and identifying his client as a “possible victim of a crime.”
Last week, the Minnesota Department of Corrections ordered Ramsey County to reduce its jail population after finding that several inmates were denied or delayed medical care. Among those included a person who suffered a stroke, a person who ingested drugs, a person brought in following a car crash, and a person who had been bleeding for two hours without medical attention, according to the DOC.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher blamed the violations uncovered by the DOC on the jail being overcrowded. The county submitted a plan to reduce its capacity.
Mozuch-Stafford was arrested in February 2021 for misdemeanor crimes related to damaging a hotel room, according to court records. Her lawsuit says she was handcuffed behind her back and complying with orders until she “verbally engaged” a guard. The guards took Mozuch-Stafford down, breaking her leg and severing an artery.
With her legs shackled, stills taken from the cell’s security camera show guards dragging Mozuch-Stafford to a bench. Additional photos show Mozuch-Stafford crawling to a sink in the cell to drink water, but unable to pull herself up to the faucet.
Medical staff who checked on her did not immediately order guards to take her to the hospital, according to the lawsuit. A photo from the suit shows a crater of skin and muscle taken from her inner-left calf.
Ramsey County denied Mozuch-Stafford’s allegations in its legal response to the lawsuit.
The Ramsey County sheriff’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment on Mozuch-Stafford, or on the FBI investigation.
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