Oklahoma county settles inmate death suit for $12.5 million

ENID, Okla. — Officials in northern Oklahoma have agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the death of an inmate in a restraint chair at the county jail.

According to court records, the Garfield County Board of Commissioners took the action over the June 8, 2016, death of 58-year-old inmate Anthony Huff.

Huff was arrested for public intoxication. Jail staff placed him in the restraint chair, where he was later found unresponsive and pronounced dead.

The lawsuit accused officials of negligence and of violating Huff’s constitutional rights. In a statement Monday, the board says it “deeply regrets” Huff’s death and the settlement is “reasonable under the circumstances.”

Read more: https://www.swtimes.com/news/20191023/oklahoma-county-settles-inmate-death-suit-for-125-million
(Fort Smith Times Record)