Dallas County has paid out a $1 million settlement in connection with the death of a man who apparently died by suicide while in custody at the Dallas County Jail.
Paul Aaron French, 31, died in 2020 after behaving erratically and threatening to kill himself, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of his surviving family.
Dallas civil rights lawyer Dean Malone filed a federal lawsuit two years ago.
“Mr. French’s family has had to deal with this for quite some time, and, from our perspective, there is simply no excuse for what happened to him in the jail," he said.
"It was clear to everyone that Mr. French had significant mental health issues and, moreover, needed consistent and appropriate monitoring," he said. "His death from water intoxication was fully preventable and his self-harm tendencies were apparent."
The lawsuit alleges French had been unmonitored and had been unmedicated "for extensive periods of time" before he was found unresponsive in his cell Dec. 8.
It also alleges that French's behavior in jail was consistent with previous diagnoses of schizoaffective and bipolar disorders. He'd been treated for those disorders during a stay at the jail in 2018.
In 2018, he was placed on "suicide precautions" at the jail. According to the lawsuit, he'd been acting erratically and agitated while banging on the light protector in his cell. Jailers restrained his wrists, ankles and torso to prevent self-harm.
After he was arrested in 2020, attorneys for his family allege, French also had been restrained after he said he was suicidal. He'd also been placed on a suicide watch. That was hours before his death.
He had for months been refusing his medications.
Malone said the anti-psychotic medications should have been administered anyway, in accordance with state jail standards.
According to an investigation into his death, French was removed from the chair at 4:28 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2020.
"If, in fact, no additional checks were conducted, this was a violation of all known jail standards, as well as minimum standards promulgated by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards," Dallas County Detective Shakita Barney wrote.
That night, jailers found French unresponsive on the floor of his cell, with white foam around his mouth.
Medical staff were sent to the cell shortly afterwards and began administering CPR.
French was pronounced dead at 10:55 p.m. at Parkland Hospital.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office determined that French "died as a result of acute water intoxication."
"Because it is unknown whether the water intoxication was a result of intentional self-harm or due to psychosis, the manner of death is undetermined," according to the ME's report.
Malone said he's glad the claims have been resolved.
“It is our hope that the Dallas County Jail has changed its policies to deal with a significantly increasing population of people with serious mental health issues,” he said.
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