EAST POINT, Ga. — The estate of a man who died of a drug overdose at the City of East Point jail in 2020 is suing the city for violating the rights of inmates.
According to an announcement of the federal lawsuit, Ausborn died at the jail in October 2020, though his death is not the only one the lawsuit focuses on.
“A federal civil rights lawsuit has just been filed against the City of East Point for violating the rights of inmates in its jail, resulting in the deaths of at least two people who did not receive proper medical clearance before being placed in a cell,” the announcement said. “This is one of several lawsuits related to jail operations, the most recent of which was settled by the City and its insurance company last year for more than $2 million.”
While the lawsuit was submitted to the court Monday, due to the federal holiday, a representative for the suit said it would not be publicly viewable until Tuesday.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- CLOSURES: What GA school districts are canceling, moving to virtual learning for winter weather?
- Trump inauguration: Inauguration Day events continue through Monday night
- Atlanta man sentenced for defrauding over $300K in PPP loans while out on supervised release
The briefing on the legal case said that a Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy revealed that Ausborn died from an accidental overdose of Xanax and Dilantin, both of which he’d “managed to smuggle into the jail without being searched.”
A representative for Ausborn’s estate said he was already “in a visibly intoxicated and unresponsive state” when he was arrested for loitering, and should have been taken to a hospital instead of the jail.
Additionally, those suing the City of East Point said that policies at the East Point Police Department and the municipal jail are “defective” because the policies do not require medical clearance for detainees before they’re kept in custody at the jail, which they said “violates generally accepted law enforcement and jail administration standards recognized by the Georgia Sheriff’s Association,” and other organizations.
“Because its officers were ‘deliberately indifferent to serious medical needs’ in violation of federal civil rights law, the City itself can be liable to Ausborn’s estate for those violations,” attorney Craig Jones, who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.
His briefing on the case mentions that this is one of several lawsuits filed against the city over its jail and police procedures, including a previous set of lawsuits on behalf of Ausborn’s daughter regarding his death.
Channel 2 Action News has contacted East Point city officials for comment and is waiting for their response.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
