The family of a Louisiana man who died at a jail run by LaSalle Corrections has been awarded $42.75 million by a federal jury.
Erie Moore Sr., a 57-year-old man, died 10 years ago while being held at Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, La., operated by LaSalle.
The jury, in its verdict, found the negligence of the company and its guards resulted in Moore’s death, WFAA reported. The jury awarded $6 million to each of Moore’s three adult children for wrongful death, $1.5 million for pain and suffering, and $23.25 million in punitive damages.
“This is the largest compensatory damage award I have ever heard of,” said Jay Aronson, a Carnegie Mellon University professor and author of Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do about It.
The case had delayed following lower court rulings supporting LaSalle and the city of Monroe. However, a federal appeals court allowed the lawsuit to proceed three years ago, paving the way for a trial this month. The case was tried by two California trial lawyers, Max Schoening and Omar Qureshi.
“This case is about the systematic failures on the part of LaSalle to ensure any oversight for how their guards were trained and treated people inside the jails—prioritizing profit over safety and the rights of detainees,” Schoening told WFAA.
Moore was a retired mill worker and father of three with no criminal history when he was arrested on October 12, 2015 for disturbing the peace at a doughnut shop in Monroe, Louisiana.
Court filings state that while he was being taken into custody at Richwood Correctional Center, he became “agitated and noncompliant”. His attorney, Schoening, said Moore was “mentally unwell” at the time and officers were aware of it. Instead of a mental evaluation, Schoening said guards pepper-sprayed him at least eight times during the 36 hours he was in jail.
Jail surveillance videos viewed by the jury show several guards bringing Moore down with force. Other jail videos show the guards picking up Moore by his legs and handcuffed hands and carrying him a few feet before one of the guards stumbles and drops Moore on his head.
The guards subsequently brought Moore to a “secluded area of the jail” without security cameras, according to records viewed by the Associated Press. For almost two hours that he was kept there, no official called for medical attention, per court records.
“The jury found the guards continued to use excessive force against Mr Moore in the camera-less area,” Schoening said. “When sheriffs from another law enforcement agency arrived to pick him up to transport him to another jail they found him unconscious and completely unresponsive.”
Moore arrived in a hospital already in a coma and passed away about a month later, court records state. Due to the head injuries, Moore’s death was ruled a homicide by the Ouachita parish coroner.
Following the verdict, Moore’s son, Erie Moore Jr. visited his father’s grave for the first time in 10 years with flowers.
“We know he’s at peace… We fought to the end,” he said to WFAA. “We stuck together as he would have wanted us to do.”
