From the March 2nd edition of the Houston Chronicle:
By Peggy O’Hare
A Harris County jury on Monday awarded $3 million to the Houston mother of a man [living with schizophrenia] who was shocked, hogtied and later died as Precinct 1 constable’s deputies took him into custody on a mental health warrant four years ago.After a three-week trial, the jury concluded by a 10-2 vote that three of the four deputies named in Shirley Nagel’s lawsuit used unreasonable and excessive force as the deputies detained Nagel’s son, Joel Don Casey [pictured], on Feb. 18, 2005.
Casey’s death was ruled a homicide. An autopsy found the 52-year-old man died of psychotic delirium with physical restraint associated with heart disease.
He also suffered fractures to his seventh cervical vertebrae and the left horn of his thyroid cartilage, believed to have occurred when one deputy dropped a knee on Casey’s neck and pulled Casey’s head back, said the dead man’s attorney, Kent Spence.
After 4½ hours of deliberations that began Friday and continued Monday, the jury awarded $2.4 million to Nagel and $600,000 to her son’s estate, which she represents.
I edited the above to remove the word "schizophrenic".
To read the entire article, click here.
