A family 21-year-old man with mental health issues who died in police custody will receive $1.2M as a settlement from Missouri County.
21-year-old with mental health issues died in Police custody (Photo: TheGrio)
BOY WITH MENTAL HEALTH DIED IN POLICE CUSTODY
Jackson County, Missouri, has reached a settlement deal with the parents of Marquis Wagner, a 21-year-old man with mental health problems who died while in police custody. It’s worth $1.2 million to settle. He thought someone was breaking into his room, so Wagner shot through the door. He was caught. Wagner had issues with his mental health. While he was at the Jackson County Detention Center, he told the guards that he wasn’t getting enough sleep and was having flashbacks, but they didn’t check out his mental health.
Wagner did disturbing things while he was locked up in a cell without food or water for eight hours, like talking to imaginary people and using toilet paper. When jail staff finally stepped in, Wagner was strangely left bound in a “suicide smock” and a restraint chair, where he kept saying he had trouble breathing. Despite his distress, he wasn’t given a proper medical check. Sad to say, Wagner lost consciousness, and attempts to revive him at the hospital failed.
After suing the county and also naming three jail guards and two hired healthcare companies, the family reached this final agreement.
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Additionally, according to the report from Fox News, this is not the first time the county has had to deal with a similar issue; a previous death in a comparable restraint chair led to a $150,000 settlement. Missouri’s second-most populous county, Jackson, said it was committed to safety, security, and health at the jail but wouldn’t say anything else because of current litigation.
In addition to giving Wagner’s family some peace, the settlement shows how important it is to check on and treat the mental health of people who are in jail, especially those who are known to have mental health problems.
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