Shoshone County sheriff responds to post questioning inmate's death

WALLACE — The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Wednesday night regarding the death of an inmate after an anonymous social media post encouraged people to take a closer look at the circumstances surrounding the man's death.  

According to the SCSO, Logan Galloway, 44, was pronounced dead just before 3:30 p.m. Nov. 7 due to a pulmonary thromboembolism that was exacerbated by Galloway’s weight and alleged methamphetamine use. 

Pulmonary thromboembolism is the medical term for a blood clot in the lung.

Galloway was arrested Nov. 5 due to a felony probation violation from a 2021 case where he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  

The anonymous Facebook post displayed screenshots that alleged that Galloway was already showing signs of medical distress upon arrival at Shoshone County Jail and that deputies failed to provide adequate medical attention during his time there. The screenshots also alleged Galloway was in police custody for a much longer duration than what court or police records reported. 

Shoshone County Sheriff Holly Lindsey refuted many of the allegations, including the length of time Galloway was at the jail and the medical attention he received. 

“Contrary to social media posts that he was left untreated in our custody for many days, Mr. Galloway was at the SCSO detention facility for only two days,” Lindsey said. “During that time, Mr. Galloway was seen by the contracted jail medical staff and was in the process of medical transport at the time of his death.”  

Lindsey said Galloway’s fatal medical emergency began as deputies were transporting him to the hospital for a suspected back or spinal injury. According to Lindsey, Galloway was alert and speaking during the transport when he suddenly stopped breathing.  

Jail staff and first responders performed CPR on Galloway for 45 minutes before he was pronounced dead.

According to Lindsey’s release, people were encouraged to “bombard” the county with public records requests pertaining to anything associated with Galloway, but she also explained why certain records are not available for public consumption.  

“While our county strives to maintain an operational structure rooted in transparency, the Idaho Public Records Act recognizes certain personal privacy interests which must be recognized and prohibits public disclosure by an agency of information that would result in an ‘unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” Lindsey said. “As this matter involves sensitive personal information relating to an individual, we have been advised that we are limited in what information we can provide.”  

Lindsey said the SCSO followed its standard procedure of immediately contacting the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office for an outside investigation.

“The investigation did not reveal criminal liability on behalf of any of the personnel involved in the death of Mr. Galloway,” Lindsey said.  

The SCSO also conducted an internal review of the incident and determined changes were needed.  

“As a result of our own review, the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office intends to implement policy changes to improve internal responses for the inmates in our care and improve staffing levels to provide increased adaptability for emergency situations,” Lindsey said.

SCSO has had ongoing staffing issues within the jail, where patrol deputies have been utilized to cover gaps in the jail schedule during high-impact times.  

Lindsey was empathetic for Galloway’s family and said that her office would not be discussing the matter further.

“We would like to encourage the community to continue being mindful of the personal nature of this event and the privacy interests of this inmate and their family,” Lindsey said.