Died in custody
Willie Ray Banks
Willie Ray Banks died on December 29, 2011, in Granite Shoals, Texas. Officers in Granite Shoals restrained him and used a Taser on him in 2011. He complained that he could not breathe, and a sheriff's deputy dismissed those complaints, according to a New York Times report published in 2020. Officers' use of force and the deputy's response are reported in that account, and they remain the central points of the account of his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (neglect alleged). Officers in Granite Shoals restrained him and used a Taser on him while he struggled for breath, and a sheriff's deputy dismissed his complaints that he could not breathe.