3 at jail fired for not aiding inmate

Inmate Norman Ford Hicks was slugged in the face and hit his head on cement. Inmate Norman Ford Hicks was slugged in the face and hit his head on cement. Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close 3 at jail fired for not aiding inmate 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Two jailers and a deputy have been fired for failing to help a 72-year-old mentally ill inmate who died after one of the jailers slugged him in the face and left him bleeding in a Harris County jail cell, recently obtained records show.

Norman Ford Hicks Sr., a retired Houston butcher with a history of mental problems and family violence, died at Ben Taub General Hospital on Jan. 22, 2011, six days after the jail incident.

Medical examiners said Hicks died from complications of a heart attack after suffering blunt head trauma and a broken nose.

Detention officer Christopher S. Pool, 25, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a Harris County grand jury in September 2011 after a review of his use of force against Hicks.

Pool, Deputy Joseph P. Jameson, 36, and detention officer Christopher L. Taylor, 32, have all filed appeals of their Aug. 21 firings by Sheriff Adrian Garcia, according to records of the Harris County Sheriff's Civil Service Commission.

The termination letters given Pool and the other two officers provide the most detailed account yet of the late afternoon incident in the jail that preceded Hicks' death.

Hicks, who was jailed on a probation violation, had caused a disturbance in a cell block. Pool, Jameson and Taylor then escorted the inmate to a booth normally used for attorney conferences.

Later, they noticed Hicks had defecated and urinated on the floor, so they moved him to another private booth and asked him to remove his soiled shoes and jail-issued shirt.

Feces-soiled shirt

Pool admitted he slugged Hicks in the face with his closed fist, knocking him down and causing him to hit his head on a concrete bench in the booth, according to his 11-page termination letter. The blow followed a disputed incident in which Hicks threw his shoes and a feces-soiled shirt out the booth's door. His shirt was either grabbed by Pool or landed on the jailer.

Pool told internal investigators he left Hicks unresponsive and face down while he went to wash himself. Investigators say the jailer failed to obtain medical attention or notify his supervisor of his use of force, according to the termination letter. The floor supervisor later found Hicks, who was not breathing, lying in a pool of blood and summoned medical staff.

"Although the facts immediately preceding your use of force appear to be in dispute, it is undisputed that you used force against Mr. Hicks, then failed to provide or obtain assistance in providing Mr. Hicks with timely access to first aid and professional medical care," reads Pool's termination notice.

Pool later changed his story to internal affairs investigators and said he had not meant to say Hicks was unresponsive when he left him.

Pool said Hicks threw his shirt in his face, blinding him, and that he punched Hicks as he was being advanced on. But that account of the confrontation differed from those given by the other two officers, Pool's disciplinary record states.

Deputy no-billed

Taylor told investigators that Hicks threw his soiled shirt at Pool, who threw it back at the inmate, and Hicks then brought his hands up in a fighting stance.

"It appears that your actions may have had the effect of provoking, rather than de-escalating, the confrontation with Mr. Hicks," states Pool's termination letter.

Attorneys representing Pool and Taylor did not return calls for comment, nor did Sheriff Garcia.

Jameson and Taylor were fired for not providing Hicks with proper aid and for failing to report the incident to super­visors.

Richard Cobb, an attorney representing Jameson, said he will prove his client did nothing to harm Hicks, adding he is being fired "as a scapegoat."

"My guy did not touch this man, lay hands on him or do anything. He was no-billed in the grand jury, and he wasn't even called by the grand jury as a witness," Cobb said. "We're at a loss at what he is supposed to have done. There isn't an allegation of excessive force."

Wrongful death suit

Cobb said that before Hicks was taken to the attorney's booth, he had caused a disturbance in a large cell block, "gone ballistic," and rammed his head against the wall.

"Their allegation is he should have gotten the guy immediate aid," Cobb said of Jameson. "That presumed my client knew he was injured, which he didn't because he didn't see anything. He just opened the door. He never witnessed or saw an injury which necessitated medical care."

Hicks' four children have filed a wrongful death suit against Pool, the sheriff's office and Harris County, charging their actions amounted to a systemic failure that "constitute a negligent implementation of the policy on securing mentally ill criminal officers by the department."

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan denied the allegations in the suit and also said the county is immune from liability.

james.pinkerton@chron.com