Long Island Man Dies In Jail While Begging For His Life

NY Daily News - Long Island inmate dies from swelling attack

A heartbroken Long Island family said their son died in jail after guards refused to take him to the hospital during a lethal, 8-hour swelling attack.

John P. Gleeson, 40, died on July 14 after his neck swelled to twice its normal size while he sat in a jail cell, begging for help, his father, John Gleeson, told the Daily News.

The younger Gleeson had been in the Nassau County Jail for about two months because his dad, a retired FDNY captain, refused to bail him out — an act of tough love, he said.

"He was troubled," the Oceanside father said, "But he was always a good person and a good father."

Gleeson worked as an electrician before he got hurt on the job. He was prescribed painkillers and got hooked.

Gleeson was diagnosed with angioedema 12 or 13 years ago. The condition causes swelling under the skin. It's not serious when it attacks the hands or feet, but can become life threatening when it reaches the chest or neck, his father explained.

Worried the swelling would become worse, Gleeson begged for medical attention, his father said.
Officers gave him Benadryl.

It didn't help.

By 5:30 p.m., the swelling started to creep up his arms. It would soon be in his chest and throat, he warned guards.
"He told the guards, 'This is going to be serious. It doesn't stop,'" his father said.

By 7:30 p.m., his neck had swollen to twice its normal size. Again, he begged for help. Other inmates yelled at officers to help, too, Gleeson said.

The next time guards checked John P. Gleeson's jail cell at 10:30 p.m. — eight hours after he first complained of swelling — he was unconscious.

By 11 p.m., he was pronounced dead.

I don't have much to add to this except to express my outrage over this heinous and criminal treatment of a non-violent drug offender. This 40 year-old father succumbed to addiction like many people who have been on opiate-based painkillers for an extended period of time and this eventually led to heroin usage. He was in jail for stealing a manhole cover and selling it for scrap. This man had no ability to save himself. Any prison guards who ignored his pleas and let him die are guilty of at least involuntary manslaughter and should themselves be in jail.

I hope the father finds the strength to cope with with his son's death and realizes that the guards are the ones responsible.

People with no heart (or brains apparently) shouldn't have been put in a position to judge the seriousness of illnesses (sudden or otherwise) that they encounter and are responsible for among the inmates. In this case, if the facts in the OP hold up, I hope the family is compensated to the tune of a few million dollars, a tragic and irresponsible loss.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
Any prison guards who ignored his pleas and let him die are guilty of at least involuntary manslaughter and should themselves be in jail.

Agreed. There needs to be a trial. It's not that hard to see when someone is swelling up and/or having some kind of reaction like that. It' s not like it's a hidden condition. And they were made aware of it. This is exceptionally serious. My heart goes out to the family who loved him and who were teaching 'tough love' by not posting bail. They are probably going to blame themselves and start thinking .... 'if only I had done this instead' .... it's clearly not their fault. Investigation and trial .... absolutely!

a reply to: theantediluvian

I was trying to find out if this is a "Corporate" or "State" run prison. Just out of curiosity.......but couldn't come up with anything.

Not that these things don't happen in both, but seems to happen more in the "For Profit" prisons.

Disgusting .. the man needed medical treatment not jail ..

originally posted by: seeker1963
a reply to: theantediluvian

I was trying to find out if this is a "Corporate" or "State" run prison. Just out of curiosity.......but couldn't come up with anything.

Not that these things don't happen in both, but seems to happen more in the "For Profit" prisons.

According to Mapquest, it's operated by the sheriff's department. Get a load of the description:

The Nassau County Correctional Facility is a detention center for convicted criminals. Operated by the Nassau County Sherriff's Department, the mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for inmates and staff.

Ugh.

a reply to: theantediluvian



So then it is up to the people of that County to throw the corrupt Sheriff out on his a@@!

Not sure how it works there, but where I live, we elect the county sheriff!

People need to think about these things before they just pull the D or R trigger/button when they vote!

To a cops ears you are always lying. To a cops eyes you are always playing tricks.

It's part of their training. If they believed everything everyone said or how everyone moved they'd never be able to get their quotas met. The work would always be interrupted by trips to the hospital.

Like any other bureaucracy the police are playing the odds and the odds say that a suspect is always lying and deceiving.

Wow ... his dad could've bailed him out, but was showing him 'tough love.'

That's gonna be hard to live with.

Nassau county jail is one of the worst places to find yourself in. This story is no surprise

This should be considered cruel and unuasual, and the guards need to be arrested and tried. THIS IS MURDER. It doesnt take long to look at someone and realize they need hospital attention. This makes me so Pissed Off

a reply to: thisguyrighthere

I agree to an extent. However in this particular case it seems the officers would have very clearly been able to SEE the swelling with their own eyes. In which case they would know he is not lying and should have gotten him medical attention.

I am so sick of drug users being locked up in this country. Also, I am SO sick of doctors getting people hooked on Opiates! It is absolutely outrageous.

The man could've been prescribed some MMJ, smoked or eaten it until his injury healed, and never touched it again without so much as a craving. But no - opiates all the way. What a joke modern medicine is.

originally posted by: lightedhype
a reply to: thisguyrighthere

I agree to an extent. However in this particular case it seems the officers would have very clearly been able to SEE the swelling with their own eyes. In which case they would know he is not lying and should have gotten him medical attention.

You give them too much credit. I'm sure they thought it was witchcraft as Neanderthals do fire.

Cops will taze, beat and cuff a headless corpse just to be sure. They lack the capacity to understand what is right in front of them.

a reply to: thisguyrighthere

Haha, thanks for the laugh mate. What you say is completely true as scary and as sad as it is.

Personally, I have been physically assaulted by police officers twice in my lifetime. The first time - I asked for it, I am a man and can admit that. The second time, I was handcuffed face down in some gravel when the beating happened. Gotta love it. Still have the scars on my cheek and my elbows to prove it. (They had rolled me over after a bit so my arms were beneath me when they began the repeated slamming up and down.) Also, you have gotta love how they pin their knees into your rib cage so hard you are unable to breathe. All the while screaming 'stop resisting.' Ummm - I am handcuffed sir. Not resisting.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Last time i was in jail it was an over nighter for criminal speeding (BS I Know) but a guy i was in a cell with starting having problems because he was diabetic and his legs started swelling and he was light headed but the guards wouldnt listen to him when he was begging for medical attention. Im no doctor but even I could see that something was not right with this guy and he needed help. Eventually the guy layed down on the disgusting floor because he couldnt sit up anymore without getting dizzy (you cany lay on the concrete benches because of metal bars every 2 feel or so). So the guards finally came in and yelled at him for laying down and trying to relax and he couldnt get up so they came back in with a bucket of dirty mop water soaked the ground in about an inch of it and left. I was released a few hours later.. Never knew what happened to him. I know jail is not supposed to be fun but there not su;pposed to torture you either.

a reply to: Expat888

He stole a manhole cover to sell for scap metal. That's why he was in jail.

a reply to: PraetorianAZ

That is just downright sick. How can they torture a man like that?

Luckily - the only times I have ever been arrested in my life was back in my troubled youth days so I narrowly avoided ever having to be in a holding pen. When you're a kid - you get your own personal cell no matter how long or short they are holding you. At least in my city.

This one really hit home for me and thanks to OP for starting this thread and bringing this article to my attention.

I grew up in Nassau County and lived there for a lot of my life. I have friends from grade school I still talk to who are active police officers in the county ad still this disgusts me. Just as much if not significantly more not just because of the proximity but, there's been a rash of these incidents in which "law enforcement" entires display complete and total disregard for human life.

In regards to the facility it is in fact a jail and not a prison. So it's local lock-up for holding people awaiting local court appearances or serving time on local misdemeanor charges or sentences of less than one year.

I hate to say it but there's a lot of officers in Nassau county that you would never want to encounter. Granted that is not everyone but "officers" with any kind of power here get big egos quick and give the impression that just because they work for the law makes them above the scrutiny of the law.

Likewise a lot of the people who live here on Long Island are extremely pro police and probably contribute on some level to the current climate of perceived police superiority.

It's even sadder that the man who lost his life because of the jailers gross negligence was only in jail because he was intentionally not being bailed out by his family in attempt to get him sober. A serious tragedy which is unfortunately probably going unnoticed by the majority of people who live here who are incredibly sheltered and actively wear blinders 100% of the time.

I've heard more than my share of police related horror stories from many first hand experiencers out of Nassau County and I don't see things getting better here before they get worse. I'm kinda at a loss for words with this...

a reply to: seeker1963

I'm going to guess that it's a state/government facility since it is the "Nassau County Jail." I could be incorrect, but County Jails are rarely run for profit or have contracted guards.

Regardless, I don't think the attitude of the county/state guards are much different than contracted/private guards given the direction we are heading in the USA.

originally posted by: Shakawkaw
a reply to: Expat888

He stole a manhole cover to sell for scap metal. That's why he was in jail.

Theft of manhole covers is now grounds for summary executions? Wow. Welcome to the new Amerika.

Derek