Timothy Cook
Timothy Cook, 48, a disabled Navy veteran who loved military history and Tennessee Vols football, was held in the booking area of the McMinn County Jail in Tennessee. On February 24, 2018, another person held there attacked him, and Sheriff Joe Guy said officers separated the men within about 20 seconds. Cook was taken to a Knoxville hospital and died a week later. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation charged the other person with second-degree murder, and his son Gavin's lawsuit says the jail's practice of placing newly booked people in the same holding room, and its failure to account for the attacker's history of violence, led to his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). Sheriff Joe Guy says another inmate attacked Cook and officers separated them within about 20 seconds, and the TBI charged that inmate with second-degree murder; Cook's son's lawsuit says the jail placed recently booked people in the same room despite the attacker's violent history and that officers did not intervene in time.
Reported by: McMinn County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (outside investigators); Cook's son, Gavin Cook, through his lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His son, Gavin Cook, sued McMinn County over his death, alleging deliberate indifference, and later refiled the lawsuit.