The death of Army veteran Elliott Williams in the Tulsa County jail is back in the spotlight as his family’s federal lawsuit moves forward. The family alleges that jail staff ignored his pleas for help for days. Video of his final days in custody, released publicly in 2013, is central to the case.
According to court documents and reporting from The Daily Beast, Williams was arrested in October 2011 at a Tulsa Marriott after what was described as a mental health episode, and was charged with misdemeanor obstruction. His father, Earl Williams, says officers used force during the arrest. Court documents say that once Williams reached the jail, an officer took him to the floor in the booking area while handcuffing him. Surveillance video then reportedly shows him struggling to stand, and later falling in a holding cell.
The family alleges that over the following days Williams told staff he could not move below his neck, yet was not taken to a hospital. The lawsuit says some staff members believed he was faking paralysis, that a nurse told him to stop faking, and that water was left out of his reach. According to court documents, a mental health worker told his father that Williams was acting like he was paralyzed. The medical examiner listed his cause of death as complications of vertebrospinal injuries.
The family sued then Sheriff Stanley Glanz and others, alleging deliberate indifference to his injuries. A healthcare company named in the case reportedly settled out of court. Glanz’s attorney, Corbin Brewster, has said there is no evidence Williams was denied adequate care, arguing that medical staff sincerely believed he was faking paralysis. The case is ongoing, and the defendants deny the family’s claims of neglect.
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