The family of a Tennessee man who died while in the custody of a county jail is pursuing legal action, local news reported.
Loved ones of Gershun Freeman, whom renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump represents, are suing Shelby County and seeking $100 million. The complaint, filed on Oct. 27 by his widow Nicole, also lists Sheriff Floyd Bonner and Chief Jailer Kirk Fields as defendants.
Freeman, 33, died on October 5, 2022, after officers at the facility allegedly beat him. Freeman, who was suffering from mental health issues, was placed in a suicide pod that morning following a recommendation from a licensed master social worker, according to the lawsuit. During the afternoon, he began having a mental health crisis.
Around 4:30 p.m., two officers started to deliver food trays. When they got to Freeman’s cell, which was completely open, the filing alleges that one of the officers pointed a can of mace at him “without any provocation.” In reaction, Freeman held up the orange tarp that was in his hand and tried to move the can from in front of him while exiting his cell.
The graphic video provides insight into the moments that led to his death. Footage shows multiple corrections officers trying to restrain and handcuff him. The lawsuit says that the staff used excessive force against him and that the door operator sprayed enough chemicals that there was a pool on the ground. In the video, officers could be seen slipping in the narrow hallway.
“He died handcuffed and naked, with a correctional officer’s knee in his back and hand around his neck,” the complaint says. “Minutes earlier, ten or more employees of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, including members of the Jail’s infamous Detention Response Team, had brutally stomped Mr. Freeman, bathed him in chemical irritant, and struck him repeatedly with implements including mace cans, handcuffs, and heavy rings of jailer’s keys.”
According to the lawsuit, he lay handcuffed on the floor for five minutes while staff walked around him. When the medical team got to the area and attempted to execute life-saving measures, Freeman died.
As ABC 24 reported, nine officers involved in his death were placed on administrative leave and charged in connection to his death. Seven of them — Charles Gatewood, Chelsey Duckett, Lareko Donwel Elliot, Jeffrey Gibson, Anthony Howell, Ebonee Davis, and Damian Cooper — were reportedly charged with aggravated assault resulting in the death of another person.
The other two, Courtney Parham and Stevon Jones, were hit with aggravated assault and second-degree murder, the outlet reported, citing court documents. Jones also faces another assault charge.
Six of them pleaded not guilty.
“The first thing we want to say is ‘Thank God,’ because the grand jury, the citizens of Shelby County, saw the same video that we saw and said that is not right,” Crump said at a news conference following the indictment announcement in September, Fox 13 reported. “That is not just, what they did to this young man who was naked. You could see that he was unarmed and had no weapons, yet they used excessive force, blow after blow.”
A medical examiner determined that Freeman died from a heart condition that was aggravated by the encounter and that his death was considered a homicide, the outlet reported. However, the official noted that the ruling doesn’t mean a crime was committed.
Crump continued: “Just because you may be experiencing a mental health crisis and the color of your skin, that does not mean you are condemned to a death sentence whether you are in the Shelby County Jail or anywhere in America,” the news station reported.
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