Lewis Nyarecha was found unresponsive on a top bunk at the Twin Towers jail in downtown Los Angeles by a fellow inmate. He had missed dinner the night before and breakfast that day.
Two L.A. County sheriff’s deputies began to haul the 25-year-old Nyarecha off the bunk, only to drop him, slamming the back of his head on a metal desk and sending blood gushing.
Though he received CPR, Nyarecha would be declared dead on a June morning last year. The county coroner found the cause of his death was quetiapine toxicity; he was given the drug because he was schizophrenic.
Seeking answers and change, Nyarecha’s family filed suit Thursday against the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, alleging negligence in his death and battery over the incident that caused the head wound. Nyarecha had struggled with his mental illness and was arrested on suspicion of trespassing.
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