The Federal Detention Center, SeaTac (FDC SeaTac) is a prison operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

. It is located in

SeaTac, Washington SeaTac () is a city in southern King County, Washington, United States. The city is an inner-ring suburb of Seattle and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The name "SeaTac" is derived from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, itself a ...

, near the

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport is the primary international airport serving Seattle and its surrounding metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which was named after the airport's nickname Se ...

, south of downtown

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and north of

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

, west of the 200th Street exit at the

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

. The facility is also adjacent to the Angle Lake light rail station. The administrative facility employed 200 staff as of 2002 and housed 608 male and female inmates as of March 23, 2015.

Background

Opened in September 1997, the detention center was designed for a capacity of 1000 inmates. The facility houses sentenced inmates, both male and female, as well as pre-trial, holdover, and immigration detainees. Many are involved in federal court proceedings in the Western District of Washington.

Procedures

Inmates are issued a "standard bed roll" consisting of bedding and towels upon arrival. Once assigned to a unit, inmates are estimated for size, provided clothes, and issued an identification card that must be carried at all times except to and from showers.

Death of Roxanna Brown

Roxanna Brown Roxanna Maude Brown (May 2, 1946 – May 14, 2008) was a prominent authority on Southeast Asian ceramics and director of the Bangkok University's Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum. Her research of Ming Dynasty ceramics greatly improved knowledge o ...

, the director of the

Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum The Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum () is a history museum in Bangkok University, Pathum Thani, Thailand, displaying Southeast Asian ceramics. The museum opened to the public on 11 May 2005. Princess Maha Chaki Sirindhorn presided over the off ...

, died in a cell at the detention center on May 14, 2008. She had been arrested on May 9 for alleged

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

upon her arrival in the United States to give a lecture at an Asian art symposium at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. The charge was dropped immediately after her death at the facility. A

medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The negligen ...

lawsuit was filed by her son Taweesin Jaime Ngerntongdee after it was determined that Brown died of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

caused by a

perforated ulcer A perforated ulcer is a condition in which an untreated ulcer has burned through the mucosal wall in a segment of the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., the stomach or colon) allowing gastric contents to leak into the abdominal cavity. Signs and symp ...

. The suit claimed that she had suffered stomach problems in the detention center and other inmates took her to a shower after a guard did not respond when she vomited something that "smelled like excrement." When Brown called for help after the 10 p.m.

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

on May 13, the guard told her that she would have to wait until the morning for medical attention, according to the suit. Detention center officials acknowledged that there was no overnight medical staff on duty and took the case to

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

. The federal government

settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

the case for $880,000 in July 2009. Attorney Tim Ford stated that part of the settlement stipulated that Brown's death would be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Prosecutor murder plot

The Federal Bureau of Prisons filed a request on June 16, 2009, to transfer Clayton Roueche of the

United Nations gang The United Nations (UN) is a criminal gang that originated in the Vancouver, British Columbia area. History Formation The UN gang was formed in Abbotsford in 1997 by a group of high-school friends from around the Fraser Valley. The founder of ...

from SeaTac to the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, after the discovery of an alleged plot with fellow inmate

Luke Elliott Sommer Luke Elliott Sommer (born June 26, 1986, in Peachland, British Columbia) is a former US Army ranger and bank robber. After almost two years under house arrest in Canada, he pleaded guilty on May 27, 2008, to the August 7, 2006, robbery of a bra ...

to kill three federal prosecutors and the warden of the detention center. Roueche was eventually transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary in Lee County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Notable inmates (current and former)

References

External links

FDC SeaTac
at the

(Official site)
FDC SeaTac
at InsidePrison.com
Ngerntongdee v. United States of America
at Justia.com {{Federal Bureau of Prisons Buildings and structures in King County, Washington Prisons in Washington (state) SeaTac SeaTac, Washington 1997 establishments in Washington (state)