MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) – Two jail employees won’t held liable for the suicide of an inmate in 2012 who was apprehended hiding in a freezer.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled against the Estate of Deitrick Bryant on Sept. 18 and in favor of Elston Carpenter and Athelyn Jordan, deputies in the Green County Sheriff’s Office.
Deitrick hanged himself with his bed sheet after complaining he’d been sexually assaulted prior to his incarceration. The controlling factor in determining the officers’ liability is whether they reasonably should have anticipated it, Justice Jay Mitchell wrote.
“(Bryant’s estate) has failed to put forth evidence that would allow a factfinder to conclude that Carpenter or Jordan could have anticipated Deitrick’s suicide,” Mitchell wrote.
Deitrick eluded capture by an investigator on April 3, 2012, but was found at his last known address hiding in a freezer. After being handcuffed, he knocked down a deputy and began to run.
A stun gun subdued him, and he was taken to Green County’s jail. There, he was asked about his health and medical history, answering that he was not in pain. He never expressed suicidal intentions either.
He was placed in isolation because of his aggressive behavior during arrest. No camera was dedicated exclusively to his cell but his door and window were within the area monitored by one camera.
When his mom visited, she told the sheriff that he wasn’t well, but interactions with jail officers were normal, they reported.
On April 5, he told an employee that he had been sexually assaulted before his arrest and needed to see a doctor. The employee said he “did not seem alarmed, distressed, or emotional.”
More than two hours later, a video shows he hanged himself in his cell. A failed federal lawsuit followed, but his estate re-filed in state court. The complaint alleged deputies failed to monitor Deitrick and provide him with medical care.
“First, there is no allegation, much less evidence, that Deitrick had a history of suicidal proclivities,” Mitchell wrote. “(Bryant’s mother) has acknowledged that, although she was concerned about Deitrick's mental health, he never expressly indicated to her that he was suicidal and she was unaware of any previous suicide attempts.”