Attorneys say FBI is investigating use-of-force at Ramsey County jail that left woman severely injured

The FBI is investigating a 2021 use-of-force incident at the Ramsey County jail that left a woman with a broken leg and other lasting serious injuries, her attorneys confirmed Friday.

Attorneys Steven Meshbesher and Richard Student said the FBI and Justice Department "informed us in writing" of the investigation on Jan. 17 and that the FBI views Miri Monique Mozuch-Stafford, 29, as a "possible victim of a crime."

The lawyers said they understood that the investigation is related to injuries Mozuch-Stafford sustained at the jail Feb. 8, 2021, when she suffered a badly broken leg and was left without treatment for 17 hours. They said that during several of those hours, she remained restrained and shackled as her conditions worsened.

KARE 11 first reported on the existence of the federal probe, also citing Mozuch-Stafford's attorneys.

An FBI spokesman in Minneapolis said Friday that the agency cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. A request for comment was left with Ramsey County.

Mozuch-Stafford sued the county and seven jail employees in September, alleging unconstitutional use of force against her while she was handcuffed behind her back.

She also alleges an unconstitutional denial of emergency medical treatment for up to 17 hours as she "languished in agony with a broken leg, severed artery, and rapidly worsening compartment syndrome and ischemia."

For much of that time, the lawsuit says, she remained in handcuffs and leg restraints.

According to the lawsuit, St. Paul police arrested Mozuch-Stafford at a hotel Feb. 8, 2021, after she tried to shelter there for the night and allegedly engaged in disorderly conduct.

The lawsuit cites jail booking records that indicated Mozuch-Stafford was cooperative, not ill or injured and "did not display any immediate medical concerns."

Amid a "verbal exchange" between Mozuch-Stafford and one officer as she was led into a holding cell, the lawsuit says, officers Thomas Kunkel, Lauren Arnevik, Olivia Rezac and Domonik Stanton executed a "disorganized and unreasonable takedown maneuver" that "severely injured" her left leg.

The lawsuit says she sustained a "comminuted, varus-hyperextension patterned, fracture of her left proximal tibia, and a severed left popliteal artery."

"These initial acute injuries constituted an objectively serious medical condition and required immediate emergency medical treatment," according to the lawsuit.

The officers ultimately shackled her legs, and one allegedly said Mozuch-Stafford's leg "wasn't going anywhere" because of the injuries.

The complaint, which was filed in September, includes still images from a jail cell security camera that show officers dragging Mozuch-Stafford to the back of the cell and of her lying alone on a bench in apparent pain while handcuffed and shackled.

In other photos, she appears to be crying and struggling to pull herself up to a water fountain after being freed from the restraints. She is also shown being returned to the cell in a wheelchair, the suit says, instead of sent to a hospital for emergency treatment.

A photo of Mozuch-Stafford's leg after orthopedic, vascular and skin graft surgeries that were required to save the limb is included in the complaint.

"The delays in treatment were the result of the Defendants' deliberate indifference to Ms. Mozuch-Stafford's serious medical condition, and violated Ms. Mozuch-Stafford's right to medical treatment under the Fourteenth Amendment," her attorneys wrote.

They said damages will likely exceed $10 million.

The lawsuit includes allegations of excessive force, failure to intervene, deliberate denial of medical treatment, medical malpractice and a separate liability charge against the county.

This month, Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell ordered Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher to immediately reduce the population of the jail, saying insufficient staffing levels posed "imminent risk of life-threatening harm" to its prisoners.

Fletcher responded with a plan that includes moving female prisoners to the county workhouse, sending prisoners to jails in other counties and requesting more staff.