On May 8, 2026, Relman Colfax along with co-counsel the Hunt Law Firm filed a complaint on behalf of the estate of Brian Toobin against the Santa Fe County Board of Commissioners, the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility (SFCADF), and Derek Williams and Melquiades Olivares in their official capacities. The complaint alleges civil rights violations under the New Mexico Civil Rights Act (NMCRA), the New Mexico Tort Claims Act (NMTCA), and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
On July 24, 2024, Brian Toobin died of acute pancreatitis and renal failure at Christus St. Vincent Hospital in the custody of the Defendants. Mr. Toobin had made repeated complaints of ongoing nausea, stomach pain, and gastrointestinal distress—all symptoms of pancreatitis–beginning in February of 2024. Despite these chronic complaints, the complaint alleges that the medical staff at SFCADF did not seriously inquire into Mr. Toobin’s condition for months and would only provide him with over-the-counter anti-nausea medications. Even when corrections officers were aware that Mr. Toobin was vomiting multiple times a day, SFCADF medical staff simply gave him Zofran and Gatorade and sent him back to his cell.
It was not until Mr. Toobin was found in severe pain and guarding his distended stomach that medical staff took the simple, basic diagnostic step of ordering a blood test. When the test showed his white blood cell count to be approximately seven times the normal range, Mr. Toobin was referred to Christus St. Vincent Hospital. Mr. Toobin was immediately diagnosed with severe pancreatitis and acute renal failure.
Mr. Toobin spent sixty-two days at the hospital. The complaint alleges that the Defendants kept him in full shackles the entire time, including handcuffs, leg irons, and a heavy chain wrapped around his waist. The shackles remained even while Mr. Toobin was intubated and sedated and even though SFCADF had a guard posted 24/7 at his room. After being brought out of the medically induced coma, Mr. Toobin was too weak to stand on his own, or even to lift his hand to his face. Nonetheless, he remained shackled.
The complaint describes how medical staff at the hospital asked that the waist chain be removed as it was causing bed sores on the immobile Mr. Toobin. Medical staff also asked that the handcuffs be removed to facilitate Mr. Toobin being able to complete the physical therapy critical to his recovery. Each time, the correction officers refused, it is alleged, stating that it was SFCADF policy to keep Mr. Toobin shackled, despite Mr. Toobin being booked into SFCADF with the “Minimum” classification, indicating that he was a low-risk, non-violent individual that a district judge had ordered released as soon as a bed was available for him at the local recovery center. The complaint alleges that Defendants’ policy to keep Mr. Toobin in constant full-body shackles made it impossible for Mr. Toobin to effectively participate in his treatment plan and deprived him of his best opportunity to fully recover.
Relman Colfax and the Hunt Law Firm are seeking damages on behalf of Mr. Toobin’s estate.
The litigation team consists of Reed Colfax, Ted Olds, and Autumn Zhou.