Justin Bullock, FISM News
On February 17, 2021, 23 year old inmate Jaquaree Simmons was found dead in his cell in a Texas prison located near Houston. A three month investigation ensued, and on Friday Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez indicated the internal police investigation had been concluded. According to the investigation, Mr. Simmons was beaten by multiple prison officers on February 16, 2021 and then died due to the negligence of those same officers in providing Mr. Simmons proper medical care afterwards.
17 officers in total were held responsible for the tragic event, with 11 of those officers being fired and 6 being placed on suspension. Mr. Simmons was booked in the Harris County jail on a felony charge for possession of a firearm on February 10, 2021. A criminal investigation into the 17 officers involved and potentially others is still on going.
The officers were said to have engaged in “using excessive force, failing to document the use of force, not intervening when a fellow officer used force and making false statements to investigators” as reported by the Associated Press. The medical examiners deemed Mr. Simmons cause of death to be homicide by way of blunt trauma to the head. Sheriff Gonzalez told the Associated Press, “We have a duty to protect those in our care and that didn’t happen… These 11 people betrayed my trust and the trust of our community. They abused their authority… Their conduct toward Mr. Simmons was reprehensible.”
Press conference on the findings of an Internal Affairs investigation into the February 17th death of Jaquaree Simmons inside the Harris County Jail. #hounews https://t.co/T9WfyDsNHm
— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) May 28, 2021