Horrifying pictures show the moment Anthony Mitchell, 33, was placed inside a walk-in freezer by two correctional officers. A lawsuit filed by the man’s family alleges the mentally ill man was placed in a freezer or other cold area of the jail and left to languish on the floor as he slowly died of hypothermia. Mitchell’s mother said he was left to cope with “hellish” conditions for two weeks before he died.
The lawsuit claimed: “While Tony languished naked and dying of hypothermia in the early morning hours of January 26 and his chances for survival trickled away, numerous corrections officers and medical staff wandered over to his open cell door to spectate and be entertained by his condition.”
Mitchell had been placed in police custody on January 12 after he was arrested for attempted murder after allegedly threatening to harm himself and others.
The 37-page lawsuit said the treatment of Mitchell while in the Walker County, Alabama jail was “one of the most appalling cases of jail abuse the country has seen.”
The document included photographic evidence showing two prison officers observing Mitchell as he lays on the ground.
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Additional pictures show two officers manhandling a naked Mitchell inside a small room with the man showing no sign of fighting back.
And more photos show him sitting in a wheelchair seemingly unresponsive. Video also shows him being carried out of the jail and placed into a patrol vehicle.
Officials with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office had previously claimed the man had been “alert and responsive” when officers escorted him to the emergency room.
A doctor at the hospital recorded his temperature at arrival was barely 22C (72F), noting in his medical record it was hard to understand how the man could be so cold.
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The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency launched an investigation into the accident parallel to the active lawsuit.
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office initially failed to address Mitchell’s death but later offered its timeline of events.
In a statement, the Sheriff’s Office said: “On Thursday, January 27th, an inmate in the Walker County Jail was provided a routine medical check by jail medical staff,’ the statement begins.
“Medical staff determined the inmate needed to be transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
“The inmate was alert and conscious when he left the facility and arrived at the hospital. Shortly after arrival at the hospital, the inmate suffered a medical emergency and became unresponsive.
“Life-saving efforts were performed by hospital staff and the inmate was ultimately revived. Unfortunately, a short time later, the inmate passed away.”
The office’s public information officer, TJ Armstrong, said the department will not be commenting on the situation following the release of the video capturing the last hours of Mitchell’s life.
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