Mark Anthony Spratt
Mark Spratt, 24, died on January 12, 2023, after being held at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in Riverside County, California. His family's lawsuit says his cellmate dragged him from their second-story cell, threw him over a railing onto a metal table below, and that officers should not have housed the two men together or opened the cell door remotely against safety protocol. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said deputies found him unresponsive with several injuries and that he was taken to a regional trauma center, where he died. The sheriff's office has said the two men had shared the cell for three months without incident, and authorities have not disclosed a motive.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). His family's lawsuit says deputies should not have housed him with his cellmate and an officer opened the cell door remotely against safety protocol, while the sheriff says the two had shared a cell for three months without incident.
Reported by: his family's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Riverside County Sheriff's Department (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal lawsuit over his death at the Riverside County jail, alleging deputies wrongly housed him with his cellmate, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.