Anthony Phillip Garner
Anthony P. Garner, 53, was the father of two. He had moved to Pleasant Hill, Missouri, with his wife, Yvonne, to live with his mother, Patsy Donald. On December 19, 2018, he died in a cell at the Pleasant Hill city jail, less than four hours after being taken into custody outside his mother's home, his family said. Officers placed him in the cell with his leather belt still on, which the department's written policy says should be removed, and jail workers did not carry out the required checks for nearly two hours, the Kansas City Star reported. The Jackson County Medical Examiner and the Cass County Sheriff's Office ruled his death a suicide by hanging with the belt, but his family says they knew of no reason he would take his own life and continues to question that finding, and the department's administrative investigation is ongoing.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The Jackson County Medical Examiner and the Cass County Sheriff's Office ruled his death a suicide by hanging with his own belt, while his family continues to question that finding and says jail workers did not conduct the required checks for nearly two hours and left him in the cell with his belt on.
Reported by: Jackson County Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Cass County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); his family.