Sheriff releases statement on Sebastian County, Ark. jail death lawsuit
Sebastian County now faces a federal lawsuit alleging a Black man who died in the jail in 2021 was neglected and malnourished while he waited a year for a trial.
Sebastian County Sheriff Hobe Runion responded to the civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas Friday in connection with the death of Larry Price Jr. in August. 2021.
Price had been held in the jail for more than a year and dropped from 185 to 120 pounds while awaiting trial, Runion said. He said Price's cause of death from the coroner's office was COVID-19.
NAACP releases statement:Sebastian County, Ark. NAACP releases statement on 2021 inmate death
Runion released a video statement on the lawsuit against Sebastian County Friday.
"You all may have heard about an inmate who tragically died in our jail more than a year ago. This is a sad case, and I can understand how hard it is for a family to lose someone they love," Runion stated in the video. "Even though this man died a long time ago during a time when COVID was killing a lot of people."
Price was jailed in 2020 after he allegedly walked into the Fort Smith police department, pointed his trigger finger, and squeezed it in a shooting gesture. He was charged with making a terroristic threat.
"It is only in the news now because a lawyer from Seattle, Washington is suing Sebastian County taxpayers," Runion stated.
Attorney Erik Heipt of Seattle, Wash. is representing the family of Price, the plaintiffs in the case.
"That lawyer made a lot of allegations and out-of-state reporters have repeated those allegations as if they were all true. They're not," Runion stated.
The federal lawsuit filed Friday alleges jail staff and the jail medical provider neglected Price.
Runion said that Arkansas State Police and the Sebastian County prosecuting attorney "had already determined that no one acted criminally."
"I'm still looking into this matter because I place a high priority on the safety of everybody in the jail. People in the county deserve to know what happened. Here is what we know so far."
Runion states that Price was awaiting a mental health evaluation when he died.
"There is evidence that he was severely mentally ill," Runion said.
Runion claimed that Price would sometimes eat the Styrofoam tray served to him instead of the food for meals. Records show that he lost about five pounds a month.
"Let me make one point clear. The jail staff gave this inmate plenty of food and water every day. The jail medical staff was in regular contact with him," Runion said.
Runion said an autopsy shows the cause of death as COVID-19.
"All of us want to know more about what other factors may have led to this tragic death," Runion said. "That is why we're continuing to look into the matter. We ask everyone to without judgment until our reviews and court case is complete."
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Lawsuit against Sebastian County addressed by sheriff
