World Courant
Jackson County, Missouri, has reached a $1.2 million settlement with the dad and mom of Marquis Wagner.Wagner, 21, died in custody after shedding consciousness in a restraint chair.Wagner, who had a historical past of psychological well being points, was arrested after taking pictures via the door of his Kansas Metropolis condominium underneath the false assumption an intruder was exterior. He additionally informed officers he had not slept in a number of days and was seeing demons.
Missouri’s second-largest county can pay a $1.2 million settlement to the dad and mom of a 21-year-old man with psychological well being issues who, in response to a lawsuit, screamed “I am unable to breathe” as he was subdued by jail employees earlier than dying in a restraint chair.
The Jackson County Legislature in Kansas Metropolis on Monday permitted the settlement within the 2021 demise of Marquis Wagner. John Picerno, the lawyer for Wagner’s dad and mom, stated jail surveillance captured the occasions main as much as Wagner’s demise. That video has not been made public.
The lawsuit named three jail guards and two corporations that the county contracts with for well being care. The settlement is simply with Jackson County. The case involving the 2 corporations is scheduled for trial in September.
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Wagner was arrested Dec. 9, 2021, and accused of taking pictures via the door of his Kansas Metropolis condominium as a result of he thought somebody was breaking in. Police decided nobody was making an attempt to get into the condominium. Wagner informed officers on the time that he had not slept for a number of days and was seeing demons. He additionally was within the technique of detoxing from alcohol, the lawsuit said.
Wagner was booked to the Jackson County Detention Heart consumption foyer round 11 a.m. Dec. 10. The lawsuit filed a yr in the past stated he was not given a psychological well being analysis regardless of proof of psychological well being misery.
As a substitute, in response to the lawsuit, Wagner was left alone in a cell with out meals or water for eight hours. Throughout that point he exhibited unusual habits reminiscent of chatting with nonexistent folks and consuming bathroom paper from the ground, the lawsuit stated.
Jackson County, Missouri, has reached a settlement with the household of a person who died in a restraint chair whereas in custody. (Fox Information)
That night, a number of jail employees members entered the cell and subdued Wagner. “He screamed ‘I can’t breathe,’ and he ‘felt like he was on fireplace’ and that ‘he was going to die,’” the lawsuit said.
Wagner was handcuffed and put right into a “suicide smock,” clothes geared toward protecting the inmate from harming himself. He was then strapped to a restraint chair, the place he once more expressed that he was having bother respiratory, the lawsuit said.
Wagner was taken to a nurse’s station, however nobody examined him earlier than he was taken again to a holding cell, the lawsuit stated. The surveillance video indicated that he appeared to lose consciousness about half-hour later, however nobody checked on him and he was transported to a different cell whereas apparently unconscious, in response to the lawsuit.
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Finally, it was decided that Wagner wasn’t respiratory. Makes an attempt to resuscitate him have been unsuccessful. Paramedics took him to a hospital, the place he was pronounced lifeless.
Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte stated in an announcement that the “security, safety and wellness of all stay a precedence” on the jail, however declined additional remark, citing the continued litigation, a spokesperson stated.
Picerno additionally represented the household of Richard Degraffenreid, who died in 2017 after being positioned within the jail’s restraint chair. The county paid a $150,000 settlement in that case. A medical expert dominated DeGraffenreid’s demise an accident attributed to drug intoxication from cocaine and methamphetamine.
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Jackson County, with about 717,000 residents, is second solely in inhabitants to St. Louis County, with about 998,000 residents, amongst Missouri counties.
