Eugene Ethridge
Eugene Ethridge Jr., 33, died on November 3, 2015, while held at the Fort Bend County Jail in Texas. His family's federal civil rights lawsuit, filed in September 2017, says he died by suicide. The family says jail staff failed to conduct required rounds, and that three witnesses said he rang a medical help bell for an hour without a response. Video reportedly showed a jailer missing rounds, and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards had cited the jail for missed rounds after an earlier suicide in 2015. The lawsuit alleges that the jail's suicide prevention practices and customs caused his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). His family's federal lawsuit says jail staff did not conduct required rounds and ignored a medical help bell he rang for an hour, and that he died by suicide.
Reported by: family's federal civil rights lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Texas Office of the Attorney General custodial death report.
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in September 2017 alleging that Fort Bend County jail staff failed to conduct required rounds before he died by suicide, and no payment amount is reported.