Jeremy Lee Thompson
Jeremy Lee Thompson, 34, was seen clutching his chest in his car outside a Dollar General in Geneva, Alabama, and told police he was having a stroke. His estate's federal lawsuit, brought by his grandmother Verlon Elizabeth Thompson, says officers arrested him for public intoxication and took him to the Geneva County Jail instead of a hospital, where he was put in a restraint chair for about an hour and a half and given ketamine by rescue workers. The lawsuit says jail staff called EMS after he began shaking and sweating, and that he was pronounced dead at Wiregrass Medical Center that night. The lawsuit says earlier medical care might have saved him, while the county coroner's autopsy listed the cause of death as toxic effects of methamphetamine.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed; neglect alleged). The county coroner's autopsy cited toxic effects of methamphetamine, but his estate's federal lawsuit says officers took him to the jail instead of a hospital, staff held him in a restraint chair, and earlier medical care might have saved him.
Reported by: Geneva County coroner (medical examiner or coroner); his estate's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal lawsuit over his death, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.