SAN ANTONIO – The estate of a man who died at the Bexar County jail in 2022 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bexar County, Bexar County’s Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Javier Salazar, according to court documents.
Derrick Ellison, 47, died in the emergency room at University Hospital on Dec. 5, 2022, hours after a detention officer found him in his jail cell having trouble breathing, BCSO said.
The lawsuit claims that the Bexar County jail and BCSO failed to protect Ellison from being assaulted and to provide medical treatment after his assault, violating his civil rights. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio.
Ellison was in custody for nearly six months on a low-level misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge. His bond was set at $1,500, meaning a $150 bail bond could have secured his release.
“Derrick struggled with mental illness much of his adult life,” the lawsuit stated. “At the time of his death, his medical history records indicate at least the diagnoses of Schizophrenia and Psychosis.”
According to the lawsuit, Ellison enlisted in the United States Air Force when he was 22 and was honorably discharged. After, he worked as a correctional officer for Wackenhut Corrections systems and eventually moved to San Antonio.
The suit asks a federal judge to grant a jury trial and award damages as well as punishment against Sheriff Salazar and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office “in an amount sufficient to deter and to make an example of them because their actions and/or inactions” involved “evil motive or intent, “reckless or callous indifference” and “constituted oppression or malice resulting in great harm.”
Trespassing arrest precedes death at jail
Ellison was arrested in San Antonio on June 25, 2022.
On Dec. 3, 2022, Ellison was assaulted by either correctional officer(s) at the Bexar County jail or other inmates, the lawsuit claims.
“(Ellison) told EMS officers, medical professionals and/or hospital administrators at University Hospital that he had been ‘jumped’ on this day,” the lawsuit stated.
On the next day, Ellison was found by jail staff unconscious on the floor of his jail cell alone, the lawsuit stated.
Ellison, according to BCSO officials, briefly regained consciousness and was taken to the hospital, where he died about five hours later.
Ellison’s attorney, Chris Tolbert, discussed the lawsuit on Wednesday.
“After (Ellison) was assaulted, he didn’t get the medical treatment he should have gotten,” Tolbert said.
During Ellison’s medical evaluation at University Hospital, Ellison had a large injury to the right side of his face. On his right eye, he had a skin tear and abrasion on his eyelid, the lawsuit stated. He also had fractured ribs.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said Ellison “most likely died of sepsis (blood poisoning) due to cellulitis (bacterial infection) of the right orbit and right side of the face,” the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit claims that law enforcement officers intentionally refused to provide Ellison with necessary medical care and refused to transfer Ellison to a mental health facility.
“There’s no amount of money that is going to bring their loved one back,” Tolbert said. “The lawsuit is not about money. It’s about the jail correcting the fundamental problems they have.”
The lawsuit also claims BCSO officers were inadequately trained, supervised or disciplined.
“For them to tell us Derick died of a medical episode and not provide any details is just not sufficient,” Ellison’s Aunt said. “We hope that it comes to light what actually happened to Derrick.”
Other, similar cases at Bexar County jail
“This has been an ongoing problem in the Bexar County jail,” Tolbert said. “The jail is consistently below standards and Derrick Ellison deserved better than what he got.”
His death has similarities to the deaths of both Janice Dotson-Stephens and Jack Ule.
Dotson-Stephens, who suffered from mental health issues, died in December 2018, five months after she was charged with criminal trespassing. Her bond had been set at $300.
Her health deteriorated while she remained in jail awaiting a psychological evaluation that was ordered months before her death.
A federal jury in January ruled that Bexar County and University Health were not liable for the death of Dotson-Stephens.
Ule, 63, died in April 2019 after detention officers found him unresponsive in his cell.
At the time of his death, Ule had been in custody for weeks on a $500 bond on a criminal trespassing charge.
The family of Ule settled a subsequent wrongful death lawsuit filed against University Health and Bexar County for a combined $85,000 in 2021.
