Answering 5 key questions after Stephen Fossett’s death at the Bibb County Jail
Nearly a year after Stephen Fossett’s death at the Bibb County Jail following a struggle with deputies, the circumstances led the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Macon District Attorney Anita Howard to step in, but the case resulted in no charges.
Fossett’s death in May 2024 was ruled a homicide after an autopsy, based on the toxic effects of synthetic marijuana that he had consumed before the struggle on top of his schizophrenia disorder, the damage done by deputies tasing him, and the effects of him being physically restrained.
Here are five key questions, now answered by officials who spoke with The Telegraph.
Was all available video of the incident released?
Attorneys for Fossett’s family, Mawuli Davis and Nathan Fitzpatrick, have repeatedly advocated for all available video from Fossett’s to be released . Only a 10-minute video of the incident from one officer’s body-worn camera has been released, showing deputies searching for Fossett after he got away from them inside the jail, then them tasing and restraining him before putting him on a gurney.
After the events depicted in the video, Fossett was strapped to a gurney, waiting for an ambulance to come, while the infirmary staff talked among themselves, according to Davis. Davis said at this time during the video, nurses are working on their computer “when it looks like he just expires.”
The infirmary staff began life-saving maneuvers once they noticed Fossett was no longer breathing, but once paramedics arrived and transported him to a hospital, he was officially declared dead, Davis said.
Other video, including surveillance video from Fossett’s jail block, hasn’t been made available. Law enforcement officials denied a request to provide additional video Tuesday.
“I have already sent you all of the body cam footage that exists,” said Abbey Robinson, open records clerk for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, when asked about the video Tuesday. “Correctional officers are not assigned body cams.”
The sheriff’s office said the surveillance video doesn’t have to be released by law because it can “compromise security against sabotage or criminal or terrorist acts.”
Why wasn’t Fossett taken to a mental health hospital?
Davis and Fitzpatrick have questioned why Fossett, a man with schizophrenia, was not taken to a mental health facility to be treated, rather than housed among the general population at the Bibb County Jail. His medical intake records, which were referenced in Howard’s review of the evidence, indicated that he was schizophrenic and “was not compliant with his medication at the time,” she said.
“It is our understanding there’s a relationship with the mental hospital here in Macon, where he should have gone once arrested ... to be stabilized versus just being thrown into the jail without any treatment,” Davis argued.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said it cannot disclose any information on whether he was screened for mental health issues prior to being booked at the jail due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that prohibits medical information from being disclosed.
How did Fossett get synthetic marijuana in jail?
Fossett’s autopsy report revealed he was under the influence of synthetic marijuana at the time of his death, known medically as MDMB-4en-PINACA.
When asked about Fossett’s death, Sheriff David Davis said that synthetic marijuana is simple to get in jail as the ingredients include easily accessible items, like paper and bug spray. It’s odorless and colorless, so it can be easily missed when searched. The sheriff’s office also mentioned that any chemical could also be used to create synthetic marijuana.
Because of how easy it is to get synthetic marijuana inside the facility, Davis said he would be working on transitioning the inmates from receiving physical copies of papers to email.
Who investigated Stephen Fossett’s death?
Fossett’s death was investigated internally by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, dedicated to internal affairs, according to Sheriff David Davis. That investigation was reviewed by the GBI at the recommendation of the district attorney’s office, he said.
“We waited a long time for the crime lab report, the autopsy report,” David Davis said. “This happened in May. We get the autopsy report in September. So it’s pretty hard for us to make a decision or finalize a case until we get that.”
The GBI made additional unspecified suggestions to further the investigation, which the sheriff’s office addressed before local District Attorney Anita Howard reviewed the case and decided not to press charges. She said in a statement that she determined the officers who tased Fossett didn’t use their taser for an excessive amount of time, based on their training, and that they responded as needed to an aggressive person.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said its internal investigation did not delay the case and was separate to the investigation made by Howard.
Were deputies placed on administrative leave?
Cpl. Cynthia Flournoy and Cpl. Curtis Wilson were the two officers who used their taser on Fossett, according to investigative documents.
Six other deputies assisted in restraining and handcuffing Stephen Fossett. None of the officers were placed on administrative leave during the investigation, the sheriff’s office confirmed Tuesday.
