Jorge Gonzalez Zuniga
Not found on the Texas Attorney General’s published list of deaths in custody.
Jorge Gonzalez Zuniga was 22 years old when deputies arrested him in April 2020 and took him to the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center in Texas. His family's federal lawsuit says deputies used force during the arrest that broke his neck and that jail staff left him in a cell for more than 21 hours without an evaluation. The family describes him as a hardworking man, a loving husband, father and son who enjoyed barbecuing for his family on weekends, and he was the father of a 1-year-old son. He was hospitalized, left paralyzed from the chest down, and released in June 2020; he died on July 15, 2020, after a heart attack, and the family says his injuries and the lack of care caused his death. The sheriff's office disputes the family's account of the force and medical care, and a grand jury declined to indict any of the officers.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The family's lawsuit says deputies crushed a vertebra in his neck and that jail staff left him for more than a day without medical care, while the sheriff's office disputes the account of force and medical care.
Reported by: family, through their attorneys' lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: His family sued Hidalgo County deputies and jail staff over his neck injury and lack of medical care, and no settlement or award has been reported.
News reports (3)
- Lawsuit: Texas deputies broke man’s neck, left him in ‘drunk tank’ 22 hours before calling paramedics
- Family sues officers for alleged use of excessive force and lack of medical care leading to man’s death
- Texas Family Sues Deputies For Excessive Force After Allegedly Breaking Jorge Gonzalez Zuniga's Neck, Then Leaving Him Alone For 21+ Hours