Lawsuits include new details in the death of an incarcerated man at Bibb County Jail
Attorneys representing the family of a man who died in May 2024 while incarcerated at the Bibb County Jail filed two lawsuits alleging systemic failures led to the death, according to a Wednesday news release.
Mawuli Davis, Nathan Fitzpatrick and Harold Spence, attorneys representing Stephen Fossett’s family, announced Wednesday afternoon in a news release that they had filed two lawsuits stemming from his death on May 25, 2024. He died after “officers repeatedly deployed tasers against him while he was restrained and physically controlled by multiple deputies,” according to the news release.
One of the lawsuits was filed in federal court against officials and deputies of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, including Sheriff David Davis. They were accused of using excessive force, failing to intervene and causing “wrongful death,” according to the news release.
The lawsuit also alleged that the incident violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, as Fossett had schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and Fossett’s civil rights. The attorneys also claim that the supervisor, David Davis, should be held liable.
The other lawsuit was filed in state court against CorrectHealth Bibb, LLC and medical personnel. It alleged systemic failures in how they conducted Fossett’s intake screening, psychiatric care and emergency medical response, the news release said. They engaged in medical malpractice, the lawsuit claimed.
“These lawsuits seek accountability not only for Stephen Fossett, but for the systemic failures that continue to place vulnerable people at risk inside the Bibb County Jail,” Mawuli Davis said.
District Attorney Anita Howard declined to criminally charge the deputies as her office found that excessive force was justified, according to previous Telegraph reporting.
Additional details of Fossett, incident
Before the incident, Fossett graduated from a mental health program at the Macon Judicial Circuit Accountability Court and had been receiving psychiatric treatment at River Edge Behavioral Health, the news release said.
He was then arrested at the Bibb County Jail on indecent exposure and criminal trespassing charges. Despite his condition and medications prescribed, which the lawsuit alleged the staff and medical personnel knew about, he “was improperly placed in general population, and deprived of urgent mental health intervention,” the news release said.
On the day of the incident, Fossett was in medical distress, which led to deputies and nurses checking up on him. The situation escalated as Fossett became combative, according to previous Telegraph reporting. The deputies resorted to deploying tasers while Fossett was restrained and applied prolonged body-weight pressure to handcuff him.
The situation eventually subsided as Fossett was restrained. Mawuli Davis claimed that the “deputies can be seen giving each other ‘high-fives’ after handcuffing him,” the news release said.
An Axon forensic analysis showed that Fossett was tased for more than 50 seconds during this incident. The district attorney claimed that Fossett was hit with the taser for roughly 13 seconds, according to previous Telegraph reporting.
His death was determined to be a homicide, according to the autopsy report. It stated that the effects of synthetic marijuana, or K2, were complicated by physical restraint and tasers used during the incident, which led to his death.
“My son Stephen was a human being,” his mother, Paula Platt, said in the news release. “He was loved. He struggled with mental illness, but he deserved compassion, treatment, dignity, and to come home alive.
“Instead, I am left mourning a son whose cries for help were ignored while he suffered inside that jail.”
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and CorrectHealth, LLC had not responded to requests for comment before publication.
