The death
Christian Black, of Zanesville, was taken into custody March 23 after reportedly crashing a stolen vehicle on Interstate 70 in Englewood. He was taken to a local hospital, then to the jail, and then after two altercations with corrections officers, died.
His death was ruled a homicide by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, which said it was the result of mechanical and positional asphyxiation.
Video from inside the jail show the two altercations with officers pepper spraying him, using a Taser on him and finally putting Black in a restraint chair with handcuffs. The video then shows officers bend him forward with multiple officers pushing down on his back as they removed the handcuffs, after which he goes limp in the chair.
Credit: Edited by Bryant Billing
The sheriff’s office said that staff performed CPR, gave Black oxygen and medicine, and used a defibrillator before medics arrived to take Black to the hospital.
He was placed on life support so that his organs could be donated, and was finally pronounced dead March 26.
Suspensions and investigation
The 10 jail employees were suspended after the incident while an investigation was ongoing, but six returned to work in September after attending training that included instructions on using the emergency restraint chair, the sheriff’s office said. Four others remained on leave at the time.
Possible charges against the 10 jail employees were presented to the grand jury by special prosecutors from the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. We have reached out the prosecutor’s office for comment.
Lawsuits
Black’s family filed lawsuits against Montgomery County and the jail, as well as NaphCare, which provides medical care for the jail, and nurses who were on the scene during the final altercation.
Credit: Sydney Dawes
Credit: Sydney Dawes
The family has repeatedly said that Black’s death was murder and called for charges against the jail employees involved.
Black’s mother Misti Black said that the jail employees took it upon themselves to be “the judge and the executioner” for Christian, while attorney Michael Wright, who is representing the family, said that the nurses did nothing to help save Christian’s life.
Montgomery County approved a $7 million settlement with the family at the end of September.
What happens now?
Attorneys for the family Wright, Robert Gresham and Anthony Pierson said in a statement that the family is “deeply disappointed” by the grand jury decision, but added, “we believe the absence of criminal charges does not mean there was no wrongdoing.”
They said that they would continue to pursue “every avenue for truth, transparency and accountability.”
“Let us be clear: Christian died because medical professionals failed him at every critical moment. NaphCare staff were present when Christian was restrained. They observed him become unresponsive. They delayed life-saving care for over five minutes—long enough for irreversible brain damage to occur. That is medical negligence, and we will prove it in civil court,” they said.
“Christian’s family deserves justice. Every person in custody deserves basic human decency and adequate medical care,” the statement said.
We have reached out to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Staff writers Sydney Dawes, Jen Balduf and Joshua Sweigart contributed to this report.
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