Mother of man who died while in Racine County Jail files federal lawsuit against authorities, claiming they are to blame

The mother of a man who died last year while in the Racine County Jail has filed a federal lawsuit against the Racine County Sheriff's Department, the sheriff, the responding officers and the jail's medical staff.

Malcolm James died while in custody on June 1, 2021. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death as asphyxia due to a restraint technique used by officers, but other experts came to different conclusions.

Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson announced in January that no charges would be filed against the officers and jail employees involved in the incident, according to the Racine Journal Times.

James' mother, Sherry James, on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against the Racine County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, the responding officers to the incident and the medical jail staff.

James, 27, was on suicide watch at the jail after being arrested for arson and recklessly endangering safety. He was restrained multiple times over the course of several days.

A previously released video of the incident showed James, his upper body wrapped in a blanket, hitting his head against the wall in his cell on June 1. Shortly thereafter, officers from the Correctional Emergency Response Team used pepper spray on him from outside the cell, then entered it and tased him, handcuffed him, and put a spit mask on his head.

The video showed that James was taken out of the cell and placed in an emergency restraint chair, then taken to the showering area to wash the pepper spray from his face.

After washing his face, officers and medical staff attempted to remove the taser prongs from his back. In doing so, they placed James in a “flex forward” position, pushing his head down.

A nurse paused the efforts because she determined the prongs are too deep under the skin. But shortly thereafter, officers resumed efforts, with three officers leaning on him to keep him bent forward, the video showed.

At one point, James' handcuffs came lose and there was a struggle to replace them.

Officers ultimately removed the prongs, and took their weight off him. By that point, James was unconscious and not breathing.

The nurse attempted to revive James using smelling salts. No one attempted CPR until paramedics arrived minutes later.

Jessica Lelinski, the Milwaukee County assistant medical examiner who performed the autopsy, said James died of asphyxia because his breathing was restricted by officers, according to the Racine Journal Times.

Nevertheless, Hanson decided not to charge any of the officers or the nurse, citing two experts who reviewed the incident.

Tom Neuman, a physician and national expert in respiratory physiology and asphyxia, determined a cardiac incident was the cause of death, citing significant heart disease, obesity, hypertensive cardiovascular disease and an enlarged heart.

Darrell Ross, a national expert in use of force in law enforcement also concluded "the actions of the officers did not cause nor contribute to the death of Mr. James."

In the federal lawsuit, James' mother, accused the officers, nurse and sheriff of gross incompetence and fault for her son's death. She is demanding a jury trial.

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mother of man who died in Racine County Jail files a federal lawsuit