$3M Awarded for Murder of John Neville. 5 SC Cops Smothered Black Man to Death by Piling On Him as He Laid Face Down on Cell Floor. He Begged Cops to Roll Him Over 30X, Said He Couldn't Breathe 12X

From [HERE] The family of a Black man who yelled that he couldn't breathe at least a dozen times before he died in a North Carolina jail in 2019 has reached a $3 million settlement in its wrongful-death lawsuit, according to court documents filed Wednesday. John Neville's family reached the settlement with all five former jailers who were initially charged with involuntary manslaughter in his death as well as with Forsyth County government and Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr., the Winston-Salem Journal reported. The settlement was reached during a mediation meeting April 19. In that settlement, the detention officers, Forsyth County and Kimbrough do not admit liability.

A federal lawsuit filed Sept. 28 alleges that detention officers at Forsyth County’s jail not only pinned John Neville in a prone position that ultimately led to his death but also that he was denied use of an inhaler for his asthma and that officials ignored repeated signs that he was in medical distress.

According to the lawsuit, despite Neville having displayed clear signs of a medical emergency, detention and medical officials at the jail failed to take Neville to the hospital for more than an hour. The lawsuit says that a sheriff’s deputy gave a written note to EMS after Neville arrived at the hospital, asking to be informed in the event of Neville’s death and whether an autopsy would be performed.

The public did not find out about Neville’s death for six months, when Kimbrough acknowledged it on June 26, 2020, prompted by questions from the Winston-Salem Journal. Local protests sparked by the Minneapolis death of George Floyd a month earlier soon turned toward demanding accountability for Neville’s death in Winston-Salem.

Just days before his death, Kernersville police arrested Neville on an outstanding warrant alleging misdemeanor assault on a female in Greensboro. He was taken to the Forsyth County Jail and, according to the lawsuit, he told jail officials he had asthma. Wellpath officials prescribed Neville an inhaler that he was to receive four times a day.

He missed two doses, and at 3:26 a.m. Dec. 2, 2019, his cellmate saw that Neville had fallen from the top bunk. He pressed a button in the cell to summon help. Heughins and detention officers came in, finding Neville on the ground, sweating, with blood on his mouth in what appeared to be a seizure-like state. [MORE]

Media organizations petitioned for the release of body camera and jail surveillance footage of the events that led to Neville’s death. A Forsyth County judge ordered the release of the videos, which showed Neville said the words “I can’t breathe” dozens of times as he was restrained, face down, in the jail.

The videos show John Neville begging for his life as multiple deputies piled on top of him as he had a medical emergency.

The incident began when Neville was found semi-conscious on the floor of his jail cell. The deputies continue telling Neville to “calm down” but Neville eventually panics and tries to stand up.

“You had a seizure,” the nurse said. “They’re just taking care of you. They’re doing this so you don’t hurt yourself.”

“You’re going to be alright, buddy,” a deputy says. “You’re going to be alright. You’re having a bit of a medical episode here.”

“I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. Help!” Neville said as deputies retorted, “If you can talk, you can breathe.”

But Neville was telling the truth. He could not breathe.

Neville was being held face down on his stomach, begging to be rolled over so he could catch his breath but the deputies refused. He asked them over 30 times, every one of the requests were denied.

One deputy tells others he knows they’re enjoying holding down Neville before offering them a break if they need it. After a straight 11 minutes with cops on top of him, Neville fell unconscious and stopped breathing.

“You guys killed him,” someone shouts. “You killed him.”

He was transported to the hospital but would not make it.

Claims are still pending against Michelle Heughins, a nurse who worked at the Forsyth County jail, and Wellpath LLC, the jail’s former medical provider. In July 2020, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill announced involuntary manslaughter charges against Heughins and the five former detention officers. In April, a Forsyth County grand jury declined to indict the five former jailers on involuntary manslaughter charges. Heughins was indicted, and her case is pending in Forsyth County Superior Court. [MORE]