DETROIT (WWJ) -- The family of a Wayne County Sheriff's corporal killed while working in the jail has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit, announced Wednesday, targets the Wayne County Sheriff's Department and the command staff overseeing Wayne County Jail Division 2.
According to officials, Cpl. Bryant Searcy was strangled by an inmate as he made his rounds on Sept. 2, 2020. Attorney Rob Mullen of Plymouth, who is representing Searcy's widow and daughter, says there were many issues with working conditions.
Mullen said the jail never had adequate staffing and that Searcy was working 15 straight hours on a forced overtime shift on the day of his death, adding that the jail was "purposefully understaffed," even several years before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
He also said that the jail's camera system wasn't working on the day of Searcy's murder and never worked from the time it was installed.
State records also show the doors on the jail cells were known to have issues with cell door locks.
"This is deliberate indifference to the fact that somebody could be injured or killed based on their failure to act," said Mullen.
Mullen said this is a case of "willful, wanton disregard."
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