Steven Floyd
Steven Floyd was a correctional officer at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Delaware, and according to the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, he warned responding officers that the situation was a trap, a warning that saved lives. His widow, Saundra M. Floyd, spent months asking how he died and said the family never learned the answer. On February 1, 2017, during a riot at the prison, people held there attacked him; the prosecutor said he was beaten and stabbed and found handcuffed in his office. A state medical examiner testified at a 2018 trial that he likely died of bleeding and could have been saved with earlier medical care, and officials have not publicly explained when he died. Four men are on trial, and the defendants dispute that they planned or took part in the riot.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). The prosecutor says inmates beat and stabbed Floyd during the riot, and the medical examiner testified he likely died of bleeding that earlier medical care could have prevented.
Reported by: prosecutor Nichole Warner; Delaware State Police (outside investigators); state chief medical examiner Dr. Gary Collins (medical examiner or coroner).