Derrek Monroe
Derrek Quenton Gene Monroe, 28, died on October 2, 2017, while held at the Coleman County Jail in Coleman County, Texas. Sources differ on the date and details of the events: the Texas Attorney General's custodial death report lists the death on that date, and a later news account says he was on suicide watch after an earlier attempt and strangled himself with a phone cord, dying the next day in a hospital. His family sued the county, and in a deposition a guard and the sheriff acknowledged the guard could have stopped him had more than one guard been working that day. The cause and circumstances of his death remain contested in the lawsuit.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). Derrek Monroe strangled himself with a phone cord while on suicide watch, according to accounts from his family's lawsuit; the family says the county failed to supervise him, and in a deposition a guard and the sheriff acknowledged the guard could have stopped him had more than one guard been working that day.
Reported by: Coleman County Jail (the agency that held him); his family's lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Texas Office of the Attorney General custodial death report.
Lawsuit: His family sued Coleman County over his death, and no settlement or award amount is reported.