US EditionFamily disputes official account of Nevada inmate’s death, alleging excessive force and a cover-up
CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, JUN 24 – The lawsuit claims inadequate training and staffing shortages led to mechanical asphyxia during restraint, with evidence tampering by officials, according to court filings.
- Patrick Odale died on December 28, 2023, at Southern Desert Correctional Center in Nevada after an altercation with correctional officers.
- His death was preceded by an asthma attack and prolonged restraint involving pepper spray and physical force, with officers allegedly using repeated punching and slamming his head into a steel door frame.
- On Monday, the mother of Odale’s children filed a lawsuit accusing both Nevada’s corrections agency and the Clark County coroner’s office of negligence, the use of excessive force, and tampering with evidence by destroying medical documents and surveillance videos.
- The Clark County Coroner ruled Odale's death a homicide caused by positional and mechanical asphyxia during law enforcement restraint, while an autopsy noted substance use contributed to his death.
- The ongoing investigation and lawsuit highlight alleged systemic issues in Nevada prisons, including inadequate training, staffing shortages, abuse patterns, and calls from family members for accountability and answers.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Denver GazetteLawsuit alleges Nevada inmate was held down, killed by corrections officers
Patrick Odale was pronounced dead at Southern Desert Correctional Center on Dec. 28, 2023. The Clark County coroner’s office ruled that he died by “positional and mechanical asphyxia in the setting of law enforcement restraint.”
Lawsuit claims Las Vegas-area prison guards beat inmate to death
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The family of a man who died inside a Nevada prison is suing the state, claiming prison employees beat and killed him while he was having an asthma attack. Patrick Odale, 39, died on Dec. 28, 2023, while incarcerated at the Three Lakes Valley Conservation Camp, a neighboring facility to the Southern Desert Correctional Center. Odale was serving a 16-to-48-month sentence on a charge involving a stolen credit card. In 2022, a j…
Family sues Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart over ‘brutal’ jail death
The family of a man who died in Cook County Jail last year after he was beaten by guards is suing Sheriff Tom Dart alleging civil rights violations and demanding punitive damages. The 73-page suit filed last week in the Northern District of Illinois by the stepfather of Cory Ulmer, who was 41 when he died, accuses Dart of having a “pattern and practice of covering up or turning a blind eye to the use of excessive force.” An additional 30 county…
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