Family of Clayton inmate who died in custody files lawsuit against county, sheriff, jail staff

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a Clayton County inmate who died in custody filed a lawsuit last week in response to a Clayton County grand jury deciding not to bring charges to jail deputies.

According to the lawsuit, the family of Terry Thurmond III is seeking damages from Clayton County, Sheriff Levon Allen, six former jail employees and multiple companies that provide services to the jail. The companies were not named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes after a Clayton County grand jury returned a no-bill on a three-count indictment against the six officers involved in Thurmond’s death. The officers were facing involuntary manslaughter charges, reckless conduct and violation of oath by a public officer.

Channel 2 Action News reached out to the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office for a statement regarding the lawsuit but has not received a response.

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Family attorney Thomas Reynolds told Channel 2 Action News that Thurmond died after suffocating under the combined weight of the officers on Thurmond face down in the prone position for an extended period.

“Five total officers, probably close to 1,000 pounds in weight, on top of this guy, face down in the prone position,” Reynolds said.

At the time of the incident, Allen said he brought in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate and that all employees directly involved were terminated for policy violations.

In Nov. 2022, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne obtained a copy of a medical examiner’s report on Thurmond’s death.

The report stated that Thurmond was trying to jump over a railing between eight and nine feet high when other inmates and detention officers stopped him.

When Thurmond got back on his feet, he kept resisting and was Tased, the report reads. It goes on to say that Thurmond was held down by officers for 10 to 15 minutes while lying face down.

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Several minutes later, the Taser prongs were removed from Thurmond. Several minutes after that, a nurse began chest compressions and Thurmond was unresponsive, the report said.

Reynolds says Thurmond’s death certificate will read the cause of death was “sudden death during altercation including prone position, physical restraint, and electroconductive device use.” And the manner of the death is homicide.

Thurmond was in the Clayton County Jail for a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge. Reynolds told Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln that he was diagnosed as mentally ill.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

Grand Jury will not charge jail officers accused of killing Clayton Co. inmate

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