Williamson County pays $500,000 to settle lawsuit over jail inmate's death
Williamson County hasagreed to pay $500,000 to settle a federal lawsuit claiming negligent practices at the county jail in 2019that led to an inmate's death.
The federal lawsuit, filed by Gloria Cowin on behalf of her son Patrick Dupre of Round Rock, said he was on suicide watch when he was put in a cell with a bed sheet and a bunk that he used to try to kill himself on May 12, 2019, at the Williamson County Jail. He died of his injuriesthe next month, the lawsuit said.
Cowin on Wednesday declined to comment about the settlement. The Williamson County commissioners approved the settlement on Tuesday but did not comment about it.
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It is the fourth lawsuit the county has settled about treatment issues at the jail in 2018 and 2019. The settlements have cost the county more than $2.3 million.
In her lawsuit, Cowin said her son had Asperger's syndrome and was in jail because he was charged with burglary and arson in connection to a fire at his girlfriend's Round Rock house.
Dupre, 37, told Williamson County jailers he had a history of suicide attempts but jailers failed to do adequate checks of his cell, the lawsuit said.
The county paid a $250,000 settlement in February ina lawsuit filed byElizabeth Firey, who said three of her vertebrae were fractured when jailers improperly restrained her in a chair at the jail in September 2018.
She was booked into jail after being accused of trying to stab her boyfriend, according to an arrest affidavit. The charge against her was later dismissed, according to court records.
The commissioners also agreed in April to a $37,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed over the use of restraints at the jail. Jay Kreper sued the county in March 2020, saying his hands and wrists were severely damaged because he was restrained too long for a blood test at the Williamson County Jail after being arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated in 2018.
In April2021, the commissioners settledfor $1.6 million another federal lawsuit involving the 2018 death of a mentally ill jail inmate. The lawsuit claimed that 24-year-old Daniel McCoy died after being denied medical help when he became violently sick at the Williamson County Jail.
More:Williamson County pays $1.6 million to settle lawsuit involving death of jail inmate
The county still has two federal lawsuits pending against it claiming mistreatment at the Williamson County jail. One of the lawsuits, filed by Scott Phillip Lewis, said he suffered a broken shoulder after he was assaulted and physically restrained at the Williamson County Jail in 2019. He was being booked on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated, the lawsuit said.
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The second pending lawsuit, filed by Bernardo Acosta, claims he was denied medical treatment for a broken finger and post-traumatic stress disorder while in the county's jail in 2021.
More:Lawsuit: Williamson County jailers denied medical treatment for man's broken finger, PTSD
The jail is run by the sheriff's office. In 2018, the Williamson County sheriff was Robert Chody, who lost his reelection bid in 2020 to Mike Gleason.
"The systems have always been in place as required by Texas Commission on Jail Standards," Gleason saidon Wednesday. "The problem was the previous administration had no training, conducted no follow up, and failed to follow proper procedures as required by the commission," he said.
Sheriff's Chief Deputy Ken Evans told commissioners in January that staff has reduced by two-thirds their use of a restraint chair to control inmates. He also said people being booked into the Williamson County Jail will be getting more help with mental health issues because a new physician's assistant has started helping with assessments.
A drop-off center for sheriff's deputies to leave people with mental health issues instead of taking them to jail opened in March.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Williamson County pays $500,000 to settle lawsuit over jail inmate's death
