Late Army Veteran's Family Sues DeKalb Sheriff Over His Death

DECATUR, GA — The family of an Army veteran is suing DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox and others, accusing jail staff of letting him lie on the floor for at least three hours and not immediately providing medical aid after a fentanyl overdose, Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump said Tuesday.

DeKalb County Jail records on Wednesday showed Private Christon Collins died on March 15, 2024 after being incarcerated for about a month on charges of obstruction of law enforcement officers and simple battery against police officer/le dog/corrections or detention officer.

More than a year later, his family on Tuesday filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Maddox, multiple detention officers and an emergency medical technician in connection with his death, according to the 57-page filing obtained by Patch. The lawsuit cites constitutional violations and wrongful death.

"They are seeking full justice, full accountability," Crump said at a news conference, per WAGA-TV. "... We think the sheriff of DeKalb County got blood on their hands. We think the jailers who were on their phones while Christian lay dying got blood on their hands."

The family claimed Collins was left unresponsive on his sixth-floor cell for at least three hours. According to the lawsuit, Collins had been given fentanyl sometime before March 13.

When inmates "repeatedly begged staff for help," the family said several officers stayed on their phones or ignored warnings that advised Collins was not breathing.

The officers were accused of not providing CPR, Narcan or performing other lifesaving measures. Responding medical personnel "too delayed intervention," the family claimed.

What Happened?

The lawsuit stated a detention officer saw Collins "stumbling and unable to control his bodily movements" for more than 30 minutes in the jail pod. He had become limp in a dayroom, according to the lawsuit.

The officer was accused of seeing Collins collapse onto the floor near the phones and neglecting to call for medical assistance. According to the lawsuit, the officer did not check on Collins, call 911 or retrieve Narcan but rather stayed on her phone.

The officer later failed to report Collins' collapse while conducting security checks and visual fire watches, the lawsuit claimed.

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston told WXIA-TV that inmate Tobias Woods relocated Collins' body into a jail cell and out of view of staff. Woods reportedly took a plea deal in connection with the death.

The lawsuit stated two other inmates also helped with moving Collins' body.

The inmates then checked on Collins "as he remained in obvious distress," the lawsuit claimed.

Two other detention officers, one responsible for housing duties and the other doing meal rounds, were also accused of not reporting the collapse. The EMS worker was accused of not immediately performing CPR, administering Narcan or other aid to Collins.

Collins suffered cardiac arrest and anoxic brain injury, and died two days later, the family said.

He would have turned 29-years-old on Tuesday, the day Woods pled guilty to supplying Collins with the drugs and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, WAGA-TV reported.

"We believe him (Collins) laying on that jail floor in the DeKalb County detention facility for over three hours was not only a shame before God but also deliberate indifference for a human life, which is a Constitution violation in the United States of America," Crump said, per the WAGA-TV report.

In a statement to Patch, the sheriff's office said it cannot comment due to "potential litigation."