Family of NC inmate awarded $3 million after he died in custody while hogtied
The family of John Neville was awarded $3 million in a settlement case after suing Forsyth County following his death.
Neville died in 2019 while he was hogtied at the Forsyth County Detention Center, after he was seen on video screaming, "I can't breathe."
According to the autopsy report, Neville died from a brain injury that was caused by positional and compressional asphyxia during prone restraint. It means Neville was being held face down and could not breathe.
Nurse Michelle Heughins was indicted by a Forsyth County grand jury for involuntary manslaughter in the death of a county inmate, but the grand jury declined to indict five detention officers who were involved in the incident.
Officers were seen on body camera video holding Neville's head to the ground.
In a statement, the nurse's attorney, Claire Rauscher, said Heughins did not restrain or hold Neville face down on a matt.
"She was not allowed to be in the cell as the other officers held him down," Rauscher said in a statement. "She asked the detention officers to open the door and let her in when she thought he was not breathing and immediately began performing CPR."
Rauscher said Heughins, who was a private contractor, was the only person at the jail "who worked to save [Neville's] life."
"She will be fully vindicated at trial," Rauscher said.
Body-camera video shows also deputies put a "spit hood" on Neville, which was to prevent him from biting deputies. Human rights organizations have deemed the hood inhumane because they prevent someone in custody from being able to properly breathe.
Neville's family sued Heughins, the five detention officers involved and leaders in the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
