Attorneys for Stephen Fossett’s family seeking $10M in jail death against sheriff
Attorneys for Bibb County Jail inmate Stephen Fossett, who died after a struggle with deputies last year, announced in a news release Friday that they are seeking $10 million in damages against the sheriff’s office.
Mawuli Davis and Nathan Fitzpatrick — attorneys for Paula Platt, Fossett’s mother — said Friday that before the first anniversary of Fossett’s death on May 25, 2024, they submitted a presentation of claims to Sheriff David Davis, Mayor Lester Miller and the board of commissioners that “details a series of egregious failures by jail personnel.”
The document is based on how deputies tased Fossett as he was experiencing a mental health crisis, rather than de-escalating and seeking treatment for him. His death was declared a homicide by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, due to the toxic effects of synthetic marijuana that he had ingested prior to the incident, being physically restrained and tased, the attorneys said.
They claimed that the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office committed:
- Wrongful death
- Medical neglect
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Breach of duty
- Violation of ministerial duty
- Deliberate indifference under the Fourteenth Amendment
- Negligence
- Negligent hiring
- Negligent retention
- Negligent training
- Excessive force violation
- Violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act
“This presentation of claims is more than a legal document,” Davis said. “It is an indictment of the systemic failures that allowed Mr. Fossett to die needlessly while under the care and custody of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.”
They are requesting $10 million in damages.
The document is necessary before initiating a federal civil rights lawsuit, the attorneys said Friday.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that it is aware of the legal action, and cannot comment on the allegations.
“We look forward to having all the facts of this incident presented in future legal proceedings,” the office said Friday in a statement.
What the document details
The presentation of claims from the attorneys says that they intend on seeking damages against the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and all of the officers, employees, agencies or entities that were involved in the struggle with Fossett the day he died, claiming that they were “at least partially responsible for the hiring, retention, training and supervision of the involved deputies, employees, officers and/or contractors at the time the incident occurred.”
The document claims that Fossett, 42, who weighed between 115 and 120 pounds, died as a result of the failure of deputies and medical staff who allegedly didn’t appropriately respond to his known schizophrenia and provide him with the necessary accommodations under the ADA.
Fossett was experiencing a “clear mental health crisis” in the showers of the J100 general population unit, appearing disoriented, agitated and in distress. But even though deputies and staff were aware of his condition, no mental health intervention or reasonable accommodation was provided.
“It is unclear why Mr. Fossett was being housed in general population at the time of his crisis and not in a mental health facility or medical ward,” the document says. “Mr. Fossett required psychiatric care, not access to the unprescribed and dangerous drugs (that are) apparently easily accessible to persons … housed in the Bibb County jail as evidenced by recent overdoses in the jail.”
Fossett was placed on a stretcher by inmates and transported to the medical area, but deputies “escalated the situation,” the attorneys allege. When nurses attempted to administer Narcan, determining it was a possible overdose, deputies held down Fossett on the stretcher, which caused him to feel panicked. He broke free from the deputies’ grasp and began running around the infirmary.
Even though he was barefoot, confused and weighing barely over 115 pounds, he was tackled, tased multiple times and physically restrained by the deputies.
“Despite Mr. Fossett’s clear signs of medical and psychiatric distress, the response was centered on physical force rather than de-escalation, medical intervention or providing reasonable accommodations under ADA,” the document says.
Deputies also used explicit language throughout the struggle.
Fossett, after being tased and held to the ground with the body weight of around four deputies, stopped moving. Though the attorneys argued that he should have received emergency medical aid, deputies prioritized putting handcuffs on him and putting him on the stretcher.
As nurses and deputies began talking among themselves rather than monitoring his condition, while they allegedly bragged about their excessive use of force, Fossett became unresponsive and stopped breathing. He was then transported to Atrium Health, where he was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.
“Stephen Fossett should be alive today,” Fitzpatrick said. “What happened to him was not just tragic— it was unlawful. This claim is the first step in seeking justice for Stephen and holding those responsible accountable under the law.”
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 4:39 PM.
