Jerod Draper
Jerod Draper was a 40-year old American father from Georgetown, Indiana who died in custody of Harrison County Jail in 2018.[1][2] Draper had ingested methamphetamine prior to his arrest for fleeing a traffic stop.[1] While incarcerated, Draper began showing symptoms of a methamphetamine overdose.[3] Guards stripped him naked and placed him in a medical isolation cell. When his condition worsened, he was placed in a restraint chair where guard Sgt. Matt Hulsey and jail nurse Michael Gregory tased him seven times in 15 minutes, stepped on his bare feet, and applied pain compliance techniques.[4]
Harrison County Sheriff's Office initially refused to release surveillance video, but after successful appeal by journalists from IndyStar, footage was released showing officers placing the taser directly over Draper's heart.[5] The Indiana State Police did not conduct an investigation into his death,[6] and Draper's family settled a lawsuit after Harrison County Prosecutor Otto Schalk declined to prosecute any of the officers involved.[7] The coroner ruled his death as an overdose.[8]
Draper's death was featured in the documentary Safe Place, as part of an investigative series into over 300 deaths that took place in Southern Indiana jails between 2010 and 2020.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Indiana Jail Deaths | Jerod Draper". Indianapolis Star. 2021.
- ^ "Jerod Draper | The Record". The Marshall Project. 2023-01-31.
- ^ "IndyStar investigates inmate death inside Harrison County Jail". Fox 59. Indianapolis. 2021-12-09.
- ^ Martin, Ryan; Evans, Time (2021-12-08). "Jailers 'brutalized' a dying man in an Indiana jail. A prosecutor says it wasn't a crime". Indianapolis Star.
- ^ Sanders, Keith; Tschirhart, Benjamin (2022-07-15). "$1 Million Paid After Indiana Jailers Fatally Beat and Taser Detainee, But Prosecutor Finds No Crime". Prison Legal News.
- ^ Mirpoorian, Sam (2023-01-31). "Opinion | Authorities Used a Taser on Him 7 Times in 15 Minutes. Then He Died. Justice Never Came". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ Martinez, Natalia (2022-05-19). "No investigation after man tased repeatedly, eventually died in Harrison Co. jail". WAVE.
- ^ Charlton, John; Ash, Andrea (2018-11-29). "Wrongful death lawsuit filed after inmate died in custody". WHAS-TV.
- ^ Porter, Jenny (2023-01-31). "Jail death highlighted by IndyStar featured in new short documentary". The Indianapolis Star.