FORSYTH, Ga. — Monroe County settled a lawsuit filed by the parents of 40-year-old Josh Marshall, who died in the county jail.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Marshall died after a fight with guards in January 2020. The parents say their son, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, died after guards placed him in an illegal chokehold.
The family asked for a $5 million settlement.
But what did Monroe County end up settling for? Will Monroe County pay $5 million? County officials won't say.
We reached out to Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman, County Manager Jim Hodges, and the County Attorney Ben Vaughn trying to get answers.
While those questions remain unanswered, here’s what we do know about the moments that led up to his death, allegations his family made in the lawsuit, and the outcome of a state investigation.
A lawsuit filed by the family last year says Josh was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
On the night of January 15, 2020, when Josh was arrested for battery, his family says he was having a schizophrenic episode.
The couple says Josh's father called the Sheriff's Office for help and asked deputies to take him to a mental-health facility.
River Edge Behavioral Health, which had treated Josh for several years, said they could not admit him, the lawsuit says.
His parents say jail officers failed to find another facility for him or give him his medications,
Instead, deputies took him to the jail.
The District Attorney's Office released portions of video to 13WMAZ, showing Josh Marshall’s final moments. It shows Marshall in a holding cell punching and slapping himself.
His parents say in the lawsuit that Josh was suffering from schizophrenic symptoms.
Later, one of the guards released him from his cell without handcuffs, but when Josh refused to go back in his cell, the lawsuit says deputies put him in an “unauthorized, illegal and lengthy chokehold” that lasted a minute and a half.
When he released him, the lawsuit states "Josh was lifeless, limp and turning blue."
Josh's parents say guards didn't try to provide any life-saving aid.
A GBI autopsy report obtained by 13WMAZ says Marshall died by homicide. His cause of death was listed as a "physical altercation with neck compression and prone position constraint.”
Before this suit was ever in court, the GBI had already closed the investigation and passed the case to District Attorney Jonathan Adams. In Adams' letter to Sheriff Freeman, he wrote deputies "acted lawfully,” and he wasn't going to present a case to a grand jury.
The family's lawsuit claims that county deputies are not trained in helping the mentally ill, and "show a total disregard for mentally unstable persons such as Josh."
Late Tuesday afternoon, 13WMAZ received video of the actual chokehold. It is disturbing videos, and we are reviewing it before reporting on it further.
By email, DA Adams wrote, this case is a terrible testimony to the state of mental health and treatment in the U.S. He would not comment further.
Sheriff Freeman also wouldn't talk about the case or the settlement. However, by phone, he said his deputies did quote "as right as they could."