Glenn Earl Smallwood Jr.
Glenn Earl Smallwood Jr., whom his family also called Glenn Smallwood, was a 33-year-old U.S. Army veteran and father of three children. His brother John remembers him as a man with a big heart who enlisted to help others and once climbed a tree to rescue a cat. He died in June 2023 while held at the Angelina County Jail in Texas, where, according to his brother's federal lawsuit, he had schizoaffective disorder, was in a mental health crisis, and was kept strapped in a restraint chair. The lawsuit alleges that a nurse who found him unconscious did not call a hospital or physician, and that jail staff and a contracted medical provider ignored his medical needs. The coroner ruled the death accidental and linked it to methamphetamine, while the lawsuit argues that impaired breathing while restrained contributed and that the death was preventable.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner ruled the death accidental from methamphetamine effects, while his estate's federal lawsuit says jail staff ignored his medical needs and that restraint in a chair impaired his breathing.
Reported by: Angelina County coroner (autopsy) (medical examiner or coroner); his estate's federal lawsuit (brother John Smallwood) (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His estate filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Angelina County jail staff and a contracted medical provider ignored his medical needs, and his brother John is also suing the county, a Lufkin police officer, a nurse and her employer; no settlement or award amount has been reported.