Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced Friday that he terminated 11 department employees and suspended six others without pay after medical examiners ruled an inmate’s death a homicide.
Gonzalez said that the involved employees “betrayed my trust and the trust of our community” when they beat Jaquaree Simmons and neglected his injuries causing his Feb. 17 death.
Hours before he passed away, Simmons triggered an altercation with officers when he clogged his toilet with clothes, forcing them to remove him from the cell and clean the mess.
But the officers decided to remove Simmons’ clothes and violated the policy according to Major Thomas Diaz.
“When removing an inmate’s clothes, you’re supposed to advise a supervisor, you’re supposed to increase the rate in which you conduct visual checks, and you’re supposed to provide a suicide smock. None of those occurred.”
That same night, Simmons was hit in the face after throwing his meal at an officer. Shortly later, several cops repeatedly beat his head when he refused to leave for his medical examination.
A jail doctor advised Simmons to undergo X-rays for his head injuries, but the guards failed to bring him back for the follow-up care and never checked back on him until he was found unresponsive the following day.
“They abused their authority,” Gonzalez said. “Their conduct toward Mr. Simmons was reprehensible. They showed complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of a person they were directly responsible for protecting.”
The sheriff added: “Their conduct was unacceptable and inexcusable and their acts discredit them, the sheriff’s office, and their fellow employees. None of them deserve to wear the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Patch ever again.”
