Federal lawsuit filed in Javonte Myers in-custody death at Tarrant County Jail

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of 28-year-old Javonte Myers who died while in-custody at the Tarrant County Jail on June 19, 2020. 

According to constitutional rights lawyer Dean Malone, who represents the Myers family, Javonte was arrested for low-level offenses. He also had significant mental health and medical issues. 

"It appears that the Tarrant County jail is a mess, and that mess is unfortunately leading to significant suffering and unnecessary deaths in the jail. No pre-trial detainee should die of a seizure disorder, with no medical treatment at all, and have his body lay on a cold cell floor for hours before being discovered. I was particularly shocked to find out that the morning after we filed the lawsuit there was yet another article about a woman who was taken to the Tarrant County jail, with a known seizure disorder, and who is now, according to the article, in a coma. This has to stop. Our Texas jails are being used to incarcerate people with serious mental health and medical issues, and they are dying as a result." 

Malone said Myers' intake paperwork indicated, among other things, that he had a seizure disorder, had insomnia, and was schizophrenic. It also indicated that Myers had a serious injury or hospitalization during the prior 90 days due to seizures. 

The form further informed Tarrant County jail personnel, according to Malone, that Myers was diagnosed bipolar, having depression and schizophrenia. This information was such that, pursuant to law, the Tarrant County jail had to notify a judge, mental health personnel, and medical personnel, said Malone. 

Myers died of a seizure disorder, his body allegedly lying on a jail cell floor, for hours, before jailers found him. Also, Malone said jailers admitted to falsifying observation records regarding Javonte. 

CBS 11 News reached out to the Tarrant County District Attorney's office, which had "no comment" on the matter.