Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – June 4, 2024 – The administrator for the estate of Brock Tyner, who died after being arrested at about 11:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, on suspicion of public intoxication on Gee Street, is suing the City of Jonesboro and two police officers

The cause of Tyner’s death hasn’t been released.

Jonesboro police Officer Joseph Harris responded to a call in the 1000 block of Gee Street at a laundromat about a crisis intervention call.

Tyner was on the ground flailing his arms and punching the sidewalk, Harris wrote in his report.

Officer Payton Perkins also responded to the call.

Tyner was handcuffed and taken to the Craighead County Detention Center, where he later collapsed and was taken to a local hospital where he died.

In the lawsuit, filed by the Sutter and Gillham law firm in Little Rock, it cited Harris’ report, which said while transporting Tyner to the detention center, Tyner was banging his head against the back seat, the window, and the cage.

Tyner was kicking the cage as well, while yelling, “Please help me” and “I’ll never do drugs again.”

At the jail, the lawsuit said it took three jailers to book Tyner because of his erratic behavior.

“Harris knew the Plaintiff was a danger to himself and others,” the lawsuit said.

“Had Defendants transported Tyner to the emergency room, he would not have died,” the lawsuit said. “… The individual Defendants should be held liable for punitive damages under state law, since the Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to Plaintiff’s State Constitutional rights.”

The lawsuit also said that the city failed to properly train its officers on the proper course of action to take when confronted with a person like Tyner.

The lawsuit asked for a judgment of $1 million.

On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Pamela Honeycutt recused herself from the case.