Civil rights attorney talks inmates’ rights after man dies in custody in Walker Co.

WALKER CO., Ala. (WBRC) - Surveillance video obtained by WBRC shows Walker County jail staff members carrying Anthony Mitchell. They place him on the ground before putting him in the deputy’s cruiser to go the hospital.

Before that, the lawsuit claims Michell was likely placed in a restraint chair in some type of freezer and left for hours. According to the lawsuit filed by Mitchell’s family, a doctor at the hospital said Mitchell’s body temperature was 72 degrees and believes he died from hypothermia.

“When there are issues with your health, they don’t ignore those,” Kira Fonteneau, a civil rights attorney with the Barrett and Farahany law firm said.

Fonteneau says jail staff should intervene if someone is calling for help or they realize that someone is in need of help.

“The jailers have to listen to you and they have to take action in order to preserve your life,” Fonteneau said.

When it comes to a restraint chair, Fonteneau says the jail can put people in one if that person is harming themselves or others. She tells us there are protocols in place for staff to check on the person periodically.

“So that their vital signs are checked. That their given an opportunity to stretch. That they are given water, use the restroom. They can’t just leave you for an extended period of time unable to leave,” Fonteneau said.

The lawsuit goes onto to say “While Tony languished naked and dying of hypothermia… numerous corrections officers and medical staff wandered over to his open cell door to spectate and be entertained by his condition.”

The lawsuit also says when Mitchell was rushed into the ER and moved to a stretcher, a doctor said he was pulseless and cold to the touch. Initially, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office told us Mitchell was alert and conscious when he left the facility and arrived at the hospital then suffered a medical emergency.

We reached out to the sheriff’s office who refused comment on this case and referred us to ALEA who’s investigating Mitchell’s death.

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