Autopsy says the death of detained Haitian man was related to his dental woes

PHOENIX — An autopsy report released Monday confirmed that the death of a Haitian man after spending months in an immigration detention center in Arizona was linked to his dental problems, as a family member had claimed.

But the report also said that Emmanuel Damas, 56, whose brother previously said he died from an untreated dental infection, had refused recommendations during his dentist appointments to have his problem teeth removed.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that Damascus died from a lung infection with abscesses in his neck and throat. The cause of death also referred to his serious dental problems.

Damascus, who died after being detained at the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Center in Florence, Arizona, is one of at least 51 inmates who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since President Donald Trump’s second term began in January 2025.

As with his death, medical examiners ruled the majority of other deaths were due to natural causes. Experts said many of them suffer from preventable illnesses with timely and effective medical care.

His death was the only one in which dental problems were listed as a cause or contributing factor in three dozen deaths for which this information was released by medical examiners and coroners.

Damascus’ autopsy report says he was placed on a waiting list after it was recommended during a dental exam in October that he have a particular tooth extracted. When his chance to have it removed came three months later, the report says he refused, saying it no longer hurt.

At a subsequent appointment in mid-February, Damascus declined another recommendation to have his teeth removed. A few days later, when Damascus complained of sore throat and abdominal pain, detention center staff asked him to go to the medical unit, but he refused, according to the autopsy report.

He was taken to the hospital on February 19 for respiratory failure, then sent to other hospitals for higher level care. He died March 2 at a Scottsdale hospital.

In a statement, Raymond Audain, an attorney representing Damascus’ family, said Damascus died because of the failures of ICE and the private prison company that runs the Florence facility to provide him with basic medical care.

The family also asked a private pathologist to perform an autopsy on Damascus, although Audain declined a request from The Associated Press for that report.

The county’s autopsy “confirms what Mr. Damas’s family determined during its own investigation: that Mr. Damascus died of sepsis as a result of a descending infection from his head and neck that began with dental pain. Mr. Damas requested medical attention from jail staff on numerous occasions, including the night before he was hospitalized, but was ignored,” Audain wrote.

In a statement, CoreCivic, which operates the Florence facility, said it takes inmate deaths at its facilities seriously.

“While we are unable to share specific information about an inmate’s medical care due to federal privacy laws, we are committed to providing safe, humane and respectful care to everyone in our care,” CoreCivic said. “We take seriously our obligation to meet all applicable federal detention standards and will continue to ensure that all detainees receive appropriate and timely medical care.

The AP left a message with ICE seeking comment on the autopsy report.

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Associated Press writer Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.