HOUSTON — Eleven Texas deputies were fired and six were suspended without pay after an investigation into an inmate’s death in February, authorities said.
During a news conference on Friday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that an internal investigation found that detention officers used excessive force, failed to document that force, failed to intervene and made false statements in connection to the death of Jaquaree Lejohn Simmons, 23, of Houston.
Authorities found Simmons unconscious in his Harris County Jail cell on Feb. 17, the Houston Chronicle reported.
A week earlier, Simmons had been booked into the jail on a weapons charge, the newspaper reported. Simmons’ death occurred a day after he and a jail employee were involved in an incident that authorities said ended with Simmons hitting the floor. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled that Simmons died from blunt force trauma to the head, KTRK reported.
“The circumstances of his death raised immediate red flags,” Gonzalez said Friday. “Frankly, the initial explanation given by those who were involved just didn’t comport with the facts.”
Throughout the course of the sheriff’s office’s investigation, 73 interviews were conducted with 37 employees and 20 people detained in Harris County jails, KPRC reported.
“These initial statements proved to be invaluable and instrumental in helping us develop a clear understanding of what occurred that day,” Maj. Thomas Diaz, who led the internal affairs investigation, told reporters.
Investigators said the events leading up to Simmons’ death occurred out of view of the 1,490 security cameras currently operating inside the 1.4-million-square-foot jail complex, KTRK reported.
Simmons’ death happened during February’s historic winter storm in the Houston area.
“During a natural disaster, we expect to see the very best in our employees,” Gonzalez told reporters. “These 11 people betrayed my trust and the trust of our community. They abused their authority. Their conduct toward Mr. Simmons was reprehensible. They showed complete disregard for the safety and well-being of a person they were directly responsible for protecting. They escalated, rather than de-escalated, the situation. Their conduct was unacceptable and inexcusable, and has discredited them, the sheriff’s office, and their fellow employees. None of them deserve to wear the Harris County Sheriff’s Office patch ever again.”
The sheriff’s office identified the terminated employees as detention officers Garland Barrett, Patricia Brummett, Joshua Dixon, Alysheia Mallety, Israel Martinez, Eric Morales, Alfredo Rodriguez, Daniel Rodriguez, Chadwick Westmoreland, Detention Sgt. Jacob Ramirez and Deputy Dana Walker, the Chronicle reported.
The sheriff’s office released new details surrounding Simmons’ death, KTRK reported.
The sheriff’s office said on the morning of Feb. 16, Simmons used his clothes to clog his cell toilet, causing it to overflow.
Detention officers responded to his cell to clean it up, and force was allegedly used at that point, the television station reported. The use of force was not documented, which is a violation of the sheriff’s office’s policy, KTRK reported.
After the cell was cleaned, detention officers sent Simmons back to his cell with no clothing.
”This was also a violation of policy, which requires detention officers to notify a supervisor before removing a person’s clothing and that the person be provided with a smock,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
That night, officers delivered a meal to Simmons’ cell and said the inmate threw the meal tray at one of the officers and “charged at him,” according to the statement.
According to the report, an officer allegedly punched Simmons in the face and closed his cell door.
“Detention officers then called for help, removing Simmons from his cell so that he could be evaluated by medical personnel,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement. “Again, detention officers used force against Simmons as they handcuffed him and escorted him out of the cellblock. At this time, Simmons suffered multiple blows to his head.”
Investigators who witnessed the second use of force did not document it, which is another violation, KTRK reported.
Simmons suffered multiple blows to the head, the Chronicle reported.
The jail’s medical staff reported Simmons appeared conscious during a check that evening, and observed cuts to his left eyebrow and upper lip. Due to the winter storm, power was out at the time. An X-ray was ordered, but was not taken after power was restored, according to the sheriff’s office.
Jailers also did not document required hourly visual checks on Simmons’ cell pod, the report said.
The fired and suspended personnel can appeal the disciplinary actions to the Civil Service Commission, the Chronicle reported. The suspensions range from three to 10 days, as well as probation for each, the newspaper reported.
“I understand that these disciplinary actions in no way make up for what happened to Jaquaree Simmons inside our jail,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “But I owe it to him, to his mother, and to our community to do everything in my power to ensure those who had a hand in it are held accountable, and that this sort of thing never happens again.”