HOUSTON – Twenty-three families filed a lawsuit against Harris County on Monday due to in-custody deaths and assaults at the Harris County Jail, attorney Ben Crump said during a news conference.
The group filed the civil rights lawsuit in federal court and is being represented by Crump and attorney Paul Grinke. Evan Lee’s family was also at the gathering.
“The families have been crying out for the last two years saying they need something to be done. And since nothing has been done, these families united have declared that ‘we’re going to do something. We’re filing this landmark lawsuit,’” Crump said.
Not all of the victims died but the lawsuit alleges some of the victims were beaten to death and assaulted by other inmates and correctional officers, Grinke said.
The lawsuit also mentioned that some officers watched the assaults happen and did not help or that some victims were not given medical care, including diabetic patients.
Grinke also said they cried out for help and were ignored. Some of the people who died in jail had not been convicted of crimes yet, according to the attorneys.
Several families spoke out about their situation.
The sister of a man who allegedly died in custody thanked the attorneys for their support and talked about some issues her family faced.
“Instead of him receiving the medical attention that he needs because he suffered from mental health (issues), he was tossed into jail with no care, and we still do not know. We requested an autopsy, we requested video footage and as of today, we have not received anything,” she said.
KPRC 2 has reached out to Harris County for a statement, but we have not heard back.
Related: