Darren Cornelius Boykin
Not found on the Texas Attorney General’s published list of deaths in custody.
Darren Boykin, 23, died on August 29, 2019, after officers arrested him near Texarkana College and were driving him toward the Bowie County jail for booking. In the patrol car he said he could not breathe and felt faint, and when officers pulled him from the car in the basement of the Bi-State building he was unresponsive. His mother, Keisha Boykin, and his estate sued three Texarkana, Texas officers in federal court, alleging they were deliberately indifferent to a medical crisis. The police custodial death report submitted to the Texas Attorney General attributes his death to complications of sickle cell trait. In 2026 a federal appeals court upheld qualified immunity for the three officers, finding they had not clearly violated established law.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The Texarkana College police custodial death report attributes his death to complications of sickle cell trait, but his family and estate sued three officers, alleging they were deliberately indifferent to a medical crisis while he said he could not breathe and felt faint during the ride.
Reported by: Texarkana College police custodial death report submitted to the Texas Attorney General (the agency that held him); his mother and estate's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His mother and estate sued three Texarkana, Texas officers in federal court over his death; a federal appeals court affirmed qualified immunity for the officers, and no payment was reported.