The Gleeson family has hired an attorney, James Pascarella, who said he plans to file a notice of claim to alert county officials that the family will file a lawsuit.

“They have a responsibility to keep him safe and they did not do that. It is unacceptable,” Pascarella said of Gleeson’s jailers. “They knew he had the condition. It should not have led to his death. When someone is confined to the Nassau County Correctional Facility, we expect they are going to be safe and their health needs taken care of.”

Pascarella said he would push for prosecution if his independent investigation determines that jail employees’ failure to act was criminal. “We’re doing our own investigation and, absolutely, if there’s potential criminality, we will contact the D.A.’s office,” he said. “We want to make sure that, one, this never happens to anyone again, and two, that John’s memory is preserved and that justice prevails here.”

“The death of Mr. Gleeson is under investigation by numerous agencies,” Michael Golio, an investigator for the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, said in a statement. “The Sheriff’s Department is cooperating and assisting with these investigations. The investigations are ongoing at this time.”