HOUSTON – A Harris County Grand Jury indicted several Harris County Sheriff’s Office detention officers in connection with an incident that left a man in a coma for a month.
Adael Gonzalez Garcia, 48, spent one month in a coma after what he says was a severe beating at the Harris County Jail on Nov. 25, 2022.
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Jimmy Poole, Ezihuo Osiminibeke, and John Ziesemer were relieved of duty on May 4 and 6, 2024, pending an Internal Affairs investigation. The detention officers are no longer working in the jail, according to HCSO.
Following the grand jury process, administrative action was taken by HCSO protocol.
HCSO released the following statement:
HCSO officers are entrusted to provide care and a safe environment for those in our custody. We take these matters seriously and conduct an internal review of all use of force incidents. All employees are held accountable for their actions and must adhere to all protocols and policies. The investigation is ongoing at this time.
What happened?
According to HCSO, Gonzalez Garcia was booked into Harris County Jail on Nov. 23, 2022 after he was arrested on an outstanding DWI warrant issued out of Walker County.
Later, on Nov. 24 at 8:50 p.m., Gonzalez Garcia reportedly fell from a top bunk bed in his cell block and suffered an injury to his facial area. HCSO said he was taken to the jail clinic where he was treated.
As he was released from the clinic on Nov. 25, Harris County jail staff told HCSO that a struggle ensued between him and detention officers while being transferred to a different cell block.
At some point during that struggle, Gonzalez Garcia fell on his head on the ground. He was taken to Ben Taub Hospital where he remains in a coma.
In a statement, HCSO said Walker County released the warrant for Garcia’s arrest, meaning he’s no longer in custody.
HCSO says the incident remains under investigation by the Internal Affairs Division, which is standard procedure for all use-of-force incidents.