A 33-year-old man in Alabama is said to have “frozen to death” after he was placed on a restraint chair inside a walk-in freezer for hours in an Alabama jail while in custody, according to a lawsuit.
Anthony Mitchell was incarcerated for 14 days in Walker County Jail “under hellish conditions” and died of hypothermia on 26 January, according to a lawsuit filed by Margaret Mitchell, the man’s mother.
The FBI is taking part in the investigation against Walker County Jail along with Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Alabama attorney general’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
The lawsuit said: “While Tony languished naked and dying of hypothermia in the early morning hours of Jan 26 and his chances for survival trickled away, numerous corrections officers and medical staff wandered over to his open cell door to spectate and be entertained by his condition.”
The lawyers for Ms Mitchell obtained security camera footage from inside the jail. The footage reportedly showed moments after the inmate was allegedly removed from the freezer and taken to his isolation cell.
The videos showed the man lying “motionless and naked on the bare cement floor” in distress while officers around hit “can be seen clowning and laughing”.
Mitchell, who was called Tony by his family, was taken to a local hospital and his internal body temperature was found to be 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The medical team spent three hours trying to resuscitate him.
“The only way for Tony’s body temperature to have ‘started dropping’ to 72 degrees in such a short period of time was for him to have been placed in a restraint chair in the jail kitchen’s walk-in freezer or similar frigid environment and left there for hours,” the lawsuit said.
“It is difficult to understand a temperature of 72° F 22° centigrade while someone is incarcerated in jail,” the lawsuit said quoting notes from Mitchell’s doctors who believe the cause of his death was hypothermia.
The normal human body temperature is around 98 degrees Fahrenheit.
The video footage of inside the jail was obtained from a corrections officer Karen Kelly “who dared to preserve security camera footage on her phone”, the attorneys said. Ms Kelly has sued the Walker County Sheriff’s Office in a separate lawsuit alleging she was fired for sharing videos of abuse, al.com reported.
Mitchell was arrested on 12 January in a “psychotic and delusional state” after authorities responded to a call from the concerned family member. The condition was caused partially by drug use. One of Mitchell’s cousins called the police after he was concerned about his mental breakdown.
When officers arrived, Mitchell allegedly brandished a handgun and fired at them once. The officers moved into the woods near the house and he was later taken into custody after more force was called in.
The family said he was put in a cell which did not have a bed or anything to sleep on and only had a drain for a toilet. The lawsuit also said that Mitchell was kept naked the entire time he was in jail possibility due to the facility’s suicide watch policy.
In their first public statement since the lawsuit was filed, attorneys for the Walker County Sheriff’s Office said they await the conclusion of the investigation before making any further comments.
“In order to present a fact-driven response, the WCSO will await the conclusion of the SBT investigation. Additional comments will be made once a complete and thorough investigation has been concluded,” a statement released by Jackson, Fikes & Brakefield said.
“The WCSO offers and extends its condolences to the family of Mr Mitchell and asks for your support and patience of the men and women of the WCSO.”
Walker County coroner Joey Vick said they are still awaiting forensic results before an official cause of death could be determined.
