Newly released video from the Clackamas County Jail shows an Oregon City woman repeatedly telling deputies she couldn't breathe while strapped into a restraint chair minutes before she died on Feb. 18.

Gerlinde Spring Lynch, 47, was pronounced dead at 11:42 p.m. that night, less than two hours after her arrest in downtown Oregon City. The Oregon State Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, finding she suffered cardiac arrest caused by a combination of methamphetamine toxicity, physical restraint, obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

Despite that ruling, Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth cleared sheriff's deputies of criminal negligence on June 22, concluding the evidence fell well below proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Lynch's father, Ted Riggle, has since filed a tort claim notice signaling federal civil rights and state wrongful-death claims against the county.

What the video shows

FOX 12 obtained surveillance and cellphone footage through a public records request. The surveillance video shows Lynch arriving at the jail shortly before 11 p.m. with more than a dozen personnel gathered around the patrol vehicle.

A separate cellphone video, recorded by Sgt. Aaron Jamison, captures deputies strapping Lynch into a restraint chair. She can be heard saying, "I can't breathe. I need to breathe."

Deputies placed a spit mask over her head and leaned her forward using their body weight. About a minute later, Jamison warned from behind the camera that deputies shouldn't push her straight down because they didn't want to "put her out." He then told them to lean her back upright to check her breathing.

She was not breathing.

A nurse could not find a pulse. Deputies and jail medical staff began CPR, but Lynch was pronounced dead at 11:42 p.m.

Manufacturer's warning at center of lawsuit

The tort claim filed by attorney Chad Staveley points to the SureGuard Correctional Safety Restraint Chair's manufacturer instructions, which state in bold red text: "IMPORTANT: Do not lean detainee forward. Remove handcuffs from the back of the chair while they are seated upright."

Deputies leaned Lynch forward in apparent violation of those instructions. A key also broke inside a handcuff lock during the restraint, delaying removal by about 60 seconds.

Background

Lynch had been released from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility on Feb. 13 after serving a two-year sentence. Earlier on the day she died, she had been arrested in Wilsonville for trespassing and pulling up plants, booked into the same jail at 3 p.m. and released on her own recognizance at 6 p.m.

Her second arrest came around 10:30 p.m. after police responded to a disturbance at a downtown Oregon City fast-food restaurant, where an employee reported she was pulling up plants, throwing rocks and moving 70-pound boulders around the drive-thru area. A responding officer reported Lynch was largely incoherent and had soil around her mouth. A toxicology test later found 1,500 ng/mL of methamphetamine in her system.

Corrections expert Donald Leach, who worked in the field for more than 40 years, reviewed the cellphone video for FOX 12 and said the restraint devices were applied appropriately, while cautioning against judging deputies' actions based solely on knowing the outcome.

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the video, citing pending litigation. Lynch is survived by her mother, father and two daughters. No court date for the anticipated lawsuit has been set.