A woman alleges North Las Vegas jail staff denied her anti-seizure medication and injured her while she was detained for more than two months last year.
The claims come from a lawsuit filed Monday by Merlyn Morfin in District Court against the city of North Las Vegas, the North Las Vegas Police Department and the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center, the city jail.
Morfin was arrested and detained on a domestic battery charge at the jail on April 27, 2025, according to the lawsuit. The charge was later dismissed, the filing said.
But for 74 days while she was in custody, the complaint alleges, Morfin was denied access to her prescribed anti-seizure medication and mental health services and deprived of toilet paper and an appropriate amount of feminine hygiene products. Correctional officers also injured Morfin while she was detained, the lawsuit claims.
Morfin, 44 at the time of her detention, was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was 12, according to the lawsuit. She is also diagnosed with psychotic disorder and schizophrenia, the filing states. Officers at the scene of her arrest knew of her epilepsy, and corrections officers knew of her mental health conditions, the complaint alleges.
Asked for comment from the city and the jail, a spokesperson for North Las Vegas said in an email that the city is unable to comment on pending litigation. The North Las Vegas Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
‘Are you dead yet?’
Without her anti-seizure medication, the lawsuit alleges, Morfin convulsed and experienced stomach pain, both symptoms of her epileptic condition.
“Despite her obvious medical distress and her documented history of epilepsy, no qualified medical personnel evaluated her condition,” the lawsuit states. “Ms. Morfin repeatedly requested medical attention for her epilepsy and related symptoms. Her requests were ignored by correctional staff and medical personnel at NLVCCC.”
When Morfin tried to get medical attention for her epilepsy and mental health, the filing alleges, correctional officers “used excessive and unreasonable force” against her.
Morfin sustained significant bruising, a cut lip, bumps on her head and broken teeth from the altercation, the lawsuit says, but her injuries were never inspected or treated by jail personnel.
At one point, the filing alleges, a correctional officer stated to Morfin: “Are you dead yet?” The complaint says the interaction showed the jail staff’s “callous and deliberately indifferent attitude” toward Morfin’s health and well-being.
On July 10, 2025, Morfin was transferred to Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital, near South Jones and West Oakey boulevards, according to the lawsuit. There, Morfin reported that she “feels traumatized” by what happened while she was jailed, the filing states.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory, general and special damages “in an amount to be proven at trial.”
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
