Following the deaths of two inmates at the Harris County Jail in Texas, the sheriff’s office requested that the FBI launch an investigation into claims of federal rights violations.
On Monday, FBI Houston said, “These investigations will be fair, thorough, and impartial and will proceed independently of any state investigations involving incidents at the jail. To preserve the integrity and capabilities of the investigations, no details of the ongoing process will be publicly shared.”
“Last week, I reached out to James Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Houston Field Office, to have his agents review the circumstances surrounding two men’s deaths in our jail because I want our community to fully trust our commitment to transparency and full accountability,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “I look forward to learning the FBI’s findings because we must all know the full truth if we are to improve our operation and make the jail as safe as possible for everyone entrusted into our care.”
“It’s appalling that you would have 32 detainees (die) in the Harris County Jail in a 14-month period,” Crump said during the press conference. “I mean, nobody would really believe it unless you have these bodies that showed you it was really happening.”
On January 1, Pillow, 31, was arrested for trespassing, a misdemeanor. Early the following morning, he was about to be released from Harris County Jail on a $100 bond when he got into a fight with officers, which led to more charges. According to the release, Pillow was forcefully restrained, examined, and returned to his cell.
On January 3, Pillow was found unresponsive in his cell and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“We have credible reason to believe that Jacoby Pillow died from compression asphyxia from being restrained, similar to George Floyd,” Grinke said during Monday’s press conference. “We have also credible reasons to believe that there will be evidence that he was beaten multiple times by correctional officers.”
The jail stated that his death is currently the subject of a “pending investigation,” even though the family had requested the autopsy report and other details about his death.
“Being a former employee in Harris County working for pretrial (services), I’ve literally witnessed correctional staff mistreat detainees because they were in need of insulin for diabetes or other medical issues, and I’ve literally witnessed them being the reason for altercations taking place between them and detainees, and it’s not fair, and it’s not right,” Ariana Pillow stated.
According to the custody death report for Simmons, 23, who was arrested and held on February 10, 2021, passed away from blunt-force head trauma on February 17, 2021.
Despite conducting 73 interviews, the sheriff’s office was unable to find any video of Simmons’ fatal altercation on any of the 1,490 jail cameras, according to KMBC.
“The Houston Police Department conducted a separate criminal investigation into the events surrounding Simmons’ death. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office recently presented the results of the HPD investigation to a grand jury, which issued an indictment against Eric Morales, a former detention officer, alleging he committed the crime of manslaughter. Morales was among the 11 employees fired as a result of the Sheriff’s Office internal investigation,” the statement said.
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