Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas is leaving office in a few weeks, thanks to the voters, but his legacy will live on, thanks to a lawsuit filed over a jailhouse death.

Daniel Goldberg recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the department in state district court on behalf of the parents of Alfred Adams, who they claim was beaten to death by county jailors two years ago.

“The lawsuit is being filed now,” Goldberg told Hair Balls, “because the Harris County Sheriff’s Department, under the [Thomas] administration, made no efforts to investigate this abuse of power, apologize to Mr. Adams’ still grieving parents and family, or change the treatment of non-violent inmates. The family contacted my office out of desperation with a process that has resulted in nothing more than their son’s death.”

Police arrested Adams in November 2006 for driving with an expired
license, says Goldberg, and then brought him to the Harris County jail.

Upon arrival, Adams complained of feeling ill, was treated, and then
sent back to the processing cell. Goldberg says that when the guards
told Adams to move to another cell, Adams was too sick to respond
quickly, so the officers began to beat Adams unconscious. Adams was
taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A Sheriff’s
spokesman initially told reporters that Adams died from cocaine and
that the bruises on his body occurred when he had a seizure and
officers had to restrain him.

Goldberg concedes that Adams’
autopsy report does say cocaine was the cause of death, but that “the
report also listed in detail his extensive injuries … [and] the
injuries were sufficient to be an independent cause of death, heighten
the possibility of death of any cocaine digestion, or at least cloud
the exact reason of death. Either way, cocaine consumption should never
warrant a physical assault ….”

Goldberg says he’s found several witnesses willing to testify on Adams’ behalf as to the officers’ behavior.

“It
is unimaginable that a young man, checked in for a non-violent offense,
should be assaulted by several well-armed guards for his inability to
comply with the guards’ orders,” Goldberg says. “It is our hope that
the new Sheriff recognizes the past administration’s problems and is
sincere in his desire to bring about a positive new direction for the
department and the County, as he was elected to do. Only time will
tell.”

— Chris Vogel

This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2008.