Fort Wayne, Indiana – After filing a lawsuit against Allen County and Fort Wayne agencies and officials, the ex-wife of a man who hung himself in the Allen County Jail showers has spoken up.
Trisha Ohlwine claims her ex-husband, Jonathan Ohlwine, would not be dead if members of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, Fort Wayne Police Department, and officials such as Allen County Sheriff Troy Hershberger took his mental health seriously.
In her lawsuit, she specifically states that Johnathan Ohlwine, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, “had a long history of mental illness and ideations of self-harm that was known or should have been known by the Fort Wayne Police Department and the Allen County Jail,” and that he was not properly supervised while in custody.
A month before his death, Johnathan Ohlwine was arrested after an FWPD detective observed him walking into traffic. Police say the detective attempted to move him out of harm’s way, but he became aggressive and began swinging with a “one thousand mile stare” before landing a punch.
In video footage obtained by 21Investigates of Jonathan Ohlwine’s arrest, he can be heard telling officers about his diagnosis.
Trisha Ohlwine claims that the day her ex-husband, the father of her two children, was arrested marked the beginning of the end for him.
She claims the video of Jonathan Ohlwine’s arrest obtained by 21Investigates prompted her to file the lawsuit.
“When I seen the police laughing and making fun of him, and taunting him, I mean it just enraged me,” she says.
Following the death of Jonathan Ohlwine in 2023, Allen County Sheriff Troy Hershberger agreed to an interview. He said he believed his agency followed its policies during the incident.
That answer, however, did not satisfy Trisha Ohlwine at the time, and she claims it still does not. In the lawsuit, Hershberger was directly accused of failing to train and supervise Allen County Sheriff’s Department employees on how to monitor and house inmates at risk of suicide.
She is seeking restitution for economic losses as well as mental and emotional distress.
