An attorney representing the family of a man who died from dehydration in Island County jail filed a tort claim with the county Friday.

The claim asks for a nonspecific amount of damages related to the April 7 death of Keaton Farris in a jail cell. The claim also states that his family will seek injunction relief “to ensure that the same thing doesn’t happen to any other inmates in the jail,” according to attorney Kathy Goater of the Seattle firm Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender.

“We’re asking the court to take an affirmative action, which could take any number of forms,” she said.

For example, she said, the court could take an a supervisory role to ensure that specific reforms are instituted at the jail.

Coupeville resident Fred Farris, Keaton’s father, said the family and supporters are continuing their campaign to educate the public about the tragedy in an effort to push reform at the jail. They will be at Hempfest in Seattle Tuesday to distribute 19,000 water bottles in honor of Keaton Farris and to staff a booth with education materials about him and the jail.

“We are going to do whatever we can to raise awareness,” he said.

Meanwhile, Island County Sheriff Mark Brown said reforms are already underway. He hired an expert in jail management to analyze the operation of the jail and make recommendations about possible improvements.

Phil Stanley, the former director of the Chelan County jail, has a contract for 180 hours of work, which will cost less than $25,000. Island County Undersheriff Kelly Mauck said he expects Stanley’s report to be complete by the end of September.

Many other changes have already happened since Farris’ death, especially in relation to medical care, said Mauck.

The nurse who saw Farris the day before he died and failed to alert the jail to any concerns has quit. The physician’s assistant who has worked in the jail for many years submitted a letter stating that he won’t seek a new contract at the end of the month.

Mauck said the jail is moving to a different model for providing health care in the jail.

Under a model that existed in the jails for years, the sheriff’s office contracted with a physician who supervised a physician assistant. The physician assistant, in turn, supervised a nurse from the Island County Public Health who provided care at the jail.

Under a new model, Public Health likely won’t be involved, though a team of nurses from the department are currently providing care.

Mauck said the plan is to contract with an advanced registered nurse practitioner — a nurse with a graduate-level education who can prescribe medication — and a licensed practical nurse to provide care at the jail. He said they would provide more than 40 hours of medical care to inmates.

“The goal is to coordinate all aspects of care in the jail,” he said.

Such services will come at a cost. He said the cost of providing medical care has been about $2,000 a year per bed. In comparison, medical care at Whatcom County jail facilities cost about $3,800 a year per bed.

He said he expects the new costs to be similar to those in Whatcom.

Fred Farris, however, said he simply doesn’t trust the sheriff and his administration to fix problems he believes have plagued the jail for years.

His preference, he said, would be to close the jail and make sure the inmates are held someplace safe. Barring that, he feels that someone from the outside, like a judge, should monitor the reforms.

Goater said they won’t know exactly what kind of reforms they feel are necessary until after they receive more information.

Goater explained that filing the tort claim is a necessary step towards a lawsuit, which can’t be filed until 60 days after the tort. She won’t be able to obtain full discovery information or depose witnesses until after the lawsuit is filed.

The tort claim briefly outlines the history of the tragedy.

Farris, a 25-year-op Lopez Island man and former Coupeville student, was arrested March 20 for failing to appear in San Juan County Superior Court on a check theft charge.

He was initially held in the Lynnwood jail and then was transferred to three other jails over six days. Staff members in each jail observed that he was “gravely disabled” with a mental health history.

“Despite his obvious vulnerability,” the claims states, “Keaton Farris was placed in an isolation cell in Island County Jail, barely monitored by jail staff, deprived of visits from concerned family members, not evaluated by medical staff, and deprived of sufficient water.”

His exact day of death is unclear because jailers didn’t find his body right away and because they falsified the jail log, according to the claim.

“Keaton Farris suffered extensive physical, psychological and emotional injuries leading to his death while incarcerated in the Island County jail,” the claim states. “His damages include such suffering, the suffering of his family and their loss of companionship.”