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This is Joshua Smith, a client of @GeorgetownLaw's Civil Rights Clinic. In May 2020, while visiting family in Virginia, his legs went numb. 911 was dialed.
12 hours later, he ended up face down in a jail cell, unconscious and permanently paralyzed. Let me tell you his story.
12 hours later, he ended up face down in a jail cell, unconscious and permanently paralyzed. Let me tell you his story.
After the 911 call, an ambulance took him to the ER of a local hospital in Galax, Virginia.
Noticing that Smith had previously been on opioid medication, the doctors and nurses assumed he was looking for drugs. They gave him a shot of Benadryl. Then they called the cops on him.
Noticing that Smith had previously been on opioid medication, the doctors and nurses assumed he was looking for drugs. They gave him a shot of Benadryl. Then they called the cops on him.
Since he couldn't walk, a sheriff's deputy wheeled Smith out of the ER, arrested him, and forced him into his police car. He took him to a local magistrate judge's office, all while calling him a “junkie” who just “shot up some bad dope.”
When they arrived at the courthouse, three other cops joined in, put Smith on a rubber welcome mat, and dragged him on the ground to the judge's chambers. The judge noticed an old probation violation, and decided he should go to jail.
But first, he wanted Smith to stand up.
But first, he wanted Smith to stand up.
The officers grabbed him from the floor and picked him up, only for his knees to buckle.
From his desk, the judge told Smith, “If you can stand up and talk to me like a man, you can go home.”
Smith was sobbing on the floor. He couldn't get his legs to work.
From his desk, the judge told Smith, “If you can stand up and talk to me like a man, you can go home.”
Smith was sobbing on the floor. He couldn't get his legs to work.
The judge ordered he be held in jail. The officers shackled Smith's hands and legs, dragged him through the courthouse out into the parking lot, picked him up, swung him three times, and hurled him into the back of a police van.
During the 40-minute ride, the officer drove erratically, hitting pot holes and taking sharp turns. Smith wasn't secured in any way—just lying on his back on the floor of the van. Every bump sent shock waves of pain through his body.
In his spine, an abscess was about to burst.
In his spine, an abscess was about to burst.
This is what's commonly known as a “rough ride.” If these facts sound familiar, it's because this is the same tactic Baltimore police used against Freddie Gray in 2015, resulting in a spinal cord injury and his death. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/09/freddie-gray-death-trial-rough-ride-baltimore-police
During the whole 40-minute ride, Smith cried out for medical help. At some point, he recalls hitting a particularly hard bump, feeling a wave of excruciating pain, and then nothing.
He had lost all feeling in his legs. He'd later learn that the spinal abscess had ruptured.
He had lost all feeling in his legs. He'd later learn that the spinal abscess had ruptured.
The officers arrived at the New River Valley Regional Jail, and then unloaded Smith, who is at this point unconscious, into a jail cell. It's the middle of the night.
They leave him there, face down, until they bring him breakfast the next morning.
They leave him there, face down, until they bring him breakfast the next morning.
Some time later, a jail officer returns and asks him why he hasn't eaten his breakfast. He can't inhale enough air to respond.
A nurse notices him, and immediately calls for help. She may be the reason he's alive today.
A nurse notices him, and immediately calls for help. She may be the reason he's alive today.
He gets taken to a hospital in Roanoke, where he goes into emergency surgery. The doctors manage to save his life, but he'd lost all feeling from the chest down. He's now permanently paralyzed.
When he wakes up, a cop is posted in his room and he's shackled to the hospital bed.
When he wakes up, a cop is posted in his room and he's shackled to the hospital bed.
A few days later, while still sedated and intubated, the cop holds an iPad in front of him and requires him to appear in his own bond hearing. The judge asks him to respond simply by blinking his eyes or nodding his head.
Although he was released from custody, Smith feels that the system “practically ended [his] life.” He can't sleep longer than a few hours a night and when he can, he dreams he's trapped in a jail cell. The financial strain has left him on the brink of homelessness.
Smith is bringing a federal lawsuit against the hospital, the medical staff, the cops, the judge and the jail for discrimination and multiple violations of his constitutional rights. You can view it here: https://georgetown.box.com/s/uv03ktm44w69s3vfnnq3i5j3crfaycr9
I hope you'll RT and share his story far and wide.
I hope you'll RT and share his story far and wide.
