HOUSTON — The family of an Arkansas man has filed a federal lawsuit in Texas accusing a for-profit jail and at least 12 guards and nurses of denying him adequate medical care and leaving him to die in his cell.
Videos that are part of the lawsuit show 35-year-old Michael Sabbie having difficulty standing and breathing after an altercation with guards hours before his death in July 2015 at the jail, which sits on the border of Texas and Arkansas in Texarkana.
In the videos, Sabbie can be heard saying at least 19 times that he can't breathe.
William McConnell, co-founder and managing director of Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections, which runs the jail, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.