Mr. Conservative – by Kristin Tate
A shocking new video has been released, showing the death of a Tulsa County inmate, Elliot Williams.
A federal judge has allowed the video to be made public — it is a part of the civil rights lawsuit against the Tulsa County Sheriff and some jail employees.
The case is from October 2011, when Williams, 37, died at the Tulsa County Jail. His estate is suing for unusual punishment and neglect. They think Williams’ death was the result of failed mental health policies and understaffing at the jail.
The video shows the final hours of Williams’ life in the jail, but a newly released version is condensed down to 10 minutes to show the times when there was movement inside or outside of his cell.
Williams was slowly dying in his cell for five days, never receiving medical or mental help.
He had a mental breakdown before he was put in jail — police records show Williams having a mental breakdown, rambling about God, eating dirt, dancing, crawling on the floor, acting like a dog, and asking officers to shoot him.
He repeatedly screamed, “Cut it out of my belly!” in the booking area.
Williams is a man that clearly should have been put in a mental facility, but officers book him into the Tulsa County jail instead.
After being put in the jail, he rammed his head into the glass window of his cell door, after which he said he was paralyzed and could not walk. Still, he was left there alone for 10 hours.
The jail finally issued a medical emergency, but the nurse said she thought williams was “faking it.”
The newly released video shows jail workers putting food and water out of Williams’ reach. Williams was forced to dip his fingers in the water to touch his lips.
On the day Williams died, jail workers flipped his body off the blanket (the same one he was dragged into the cell on) and tried to revive him. They unsuccessfully preformed CPR on him three times.
Too bad they didn’t try to help him when he was still alive.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said, “The death was an unfortunate event in the Tulsa County Jail. On the advice of counsel, we are unable to comment on current litigation. We look forward to defending this case in court at the appropriate time.”
An autopsy revealed that Williams died from complications of spinal injuries caused by blunt force trauma.
This is a sickening, sad story. I hope justice is served.