Brianna Grier.Photo:Facebook
The family of a Georgia woman who died after falling from a police car last year has filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that officers from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office were grossly negligent and used excessive force that lead to her death.
Attorneys for Brianna Grier’s family announced the lawsuit on Wednesday, according toNBC NewsandFox 5 Atlanta.
“They wanted the police to help her, take her to the hospital to get help,” attorney Ben Crump said, per Fox 5. “They had called before asking them for help.”
A representative for Hancock County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment on the lawsuit.
Police Car.Photo © chictype / Getty Images
Brianna, 28, died on July 21, 2022, six days after she fell out of the patrol car. She had been taken into custody at a home in Sparta after her mother called police and told them her daughter was experiencing a schizophrenic episode,WMAZreported at the time.
Body camera footageshowed the immediate moments after Brianna fell out of the car.
“Since she was handcuffed there was no breaking the fall,” Crump said on Wednesday. “Her skull hit the road.”
Brianna Grier.Brianna Grier/Facebook
In anews releaseafter the ordeal occurred, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) said that it had closed the investigation connected to the incident that led to Brianna’s death.
The Ocmulgee Circuit District Attorney declined to bring the case to a civil or criminal grand jury, the GBI said at the time.
The lawsuit names Hancock County Sheriff Tomlyn Primus, Lt. Marlin Primus and Deputy Timothy Legette, per NBC News.
Brianna’s mother, Mary Grier, told the outlet that her grandchildren often ask about their mother. Fox 5 reported that Brianna left behind 4-year-old twin daughters.
“I tell them the truth: She’s gone home to be with God,” she said.
Mary added, “They knew her condition, they knew it. Because that wasn’t the first time they were coming down there. I don’t think they did her right. I miss my daughter.”
source: people.com
