Wallace Howell
Wallace Howell, 38, died on June 15, 2020, while held at the Ector County Jail in Ector County, Texas. An autopsy report obtained by the Odessa American says the medical examiner ruled his death an accidental methamphetamine overdose, and the Texas Rangers said the autopsy was pending in earlier reports. Officials said jail staff used a Taser and pepper spray, and restrained him after an altercation in his cell, before he was found unresponsive in a padded cell and pronounced dead at a hospital. The district attorney believes jail staff should have been investigated for excessive force, though a grand jury found no wrongdoing, and friends and family planned a vigil and a demonstration in his memory.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed). The medical examiner ruled the death an accidental methamphetamine overdose, while the sheriff's office and Texas Rangers accounts describe jail staff tasing and restraining him, and the district attorney believes staff should have been investigated for excessive force.
Reported by: Ector County Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Ector County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Texas Rangers (outside investigators); Odessa American (reporters).