$2M deal reached in lawsuit over young woman’s death at North Dakota jail in 2020

By Jack Dura BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A $2 million agreement has been reached in a lawsuit over the death of a young woman while she was in custody at a North Dakota county jail in 2020. Lacey Higdem, 19, died of a drug overdose on June 4, 2020, hours after she arrived at the Rolette County Jail in Rolla, according to the lawsuit her mother, Jessica Allen, filed in 2022 against the county, two former correctional officers and medical providers. Attorneys for Allen said Thursday they had accepted the county’s offer. A Bureau of Indian Affairs officer found Higdem while responding to a call about a woman yelling for help in the woods near Belcourt, according to the complaint. Higdem, who appeared to be in a delusional state, was…

Add Your Voice

Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Contribute your voice on our contribute page.