The City of Dallas has agreed to pay a settlement of $1 million to relatives of a man who alleged he was denied medical help while he was in custody, causing him to die a week later.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Juan Segovia’s family sued the city in June after allegedly refusing medical help while he was in custody, leading to his death. According to the lawsuit, the family says that Segovia’s civil rights were violated when he was checked out twice by Dallas paramedics while drunk and not taken to a hospital.
Per the lawsuit, police hauled Segovia to jail and left him unchecked in a state of unconsciousness overnight. He was transferred to Baylor University Medical Center the following day, where he later died.
According to The Dallas Morning News, an attorney representing Segovia’s family, Scott Palmer, alleged that officials failed to follow protocol, saying, “[he was] basically nonresponsive the entire time, couldn’t speak, didn’t even know his name.”
While Palmer said that no amount of money could end Segovia’s family’s grief, he stated that it serves as an acknowledgment that something went wrong.
Segovia’s family did not only file a lawsuit against the city; they also sued the eight Dallas first responders who they say failed to get the 45-year-old aid during their interactions with him on June 30, 2019.
The eight include Robert Beck and Kenneth Brown, police officers; Alexis Booker-Lewis; Michael Rumsey; Craig Houston; Ashleigh Warren, deputy marshals; and Maxwell Boeckel and Rodney Featherston, paramedics.
Federal court records show that the city of Dallas did not formally respond to the allegations in the lawsuit. An October court filing by Wilson Gowin said that both parties were trying to resolve the matter in a way that would avoid “costly and protracted litigation.”