Report: McHenry Co. jail followed procedure

A McHenry County Sheriff's Office investigation has concluded all policies and procedures were followed in the Feb. 18 attempted suicide by Thomas Puchmelter, a 42-year-old Crystal Lake man who was taken off life support two days after he was found hanging in his cell.

The sheriff's office on Friday released 94 pages of documents in response to a Daily Herald request under the Freedom of Information Act.

No jail personnel have or will be disciplined or suspended in the matter, Undersheriff Andrew Zinke said.

Puchmelter was in jail for a domestic attack on Feb. 15. He was moved to his own cell later in the week after a jail psychologist “deemed him fit enough to be removed” from suicide watch.

A guard found him alone in his cell at 11:41 p.m., the reports state. The staff began CPR and he was taken to the hospital, the report says.

Puchmelter was alone in his cell and checked every 20 minutes, officials say. Two fellow inmates told investigators that Puchmelter never talked of suicide but had faked seizures earlier in the day in an attempt to get medication, reports said.

An initial examination concluded Puchmelter was depressed, suffered from anxiety and needed to detox from alcohol, reports said.