No charges filed in inmate's death

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sarasota Herald Tribune, FL

PENSACOLA -- Criminal charges will not be filed in the death of an inmate who died after he was shot twice with a stun gun at the Escambia County Jail, the State Attorney's Office said.

State Attorney Bill Eddins announced his decision Wednesday, after Escambia County Judge Thomas Johnson found that Jerry Preyer did not die as a result of criminal acts by detention deputies.

Johnson conducted a six-hour inquest on Tuesday where the medical examiner, deputies and inmates testified about the circumstances surrounding Preyer's death in June 2006.

"While there may have been some negligence in the transmission of the inmate's medical records, especially mental-health issues, the court does not determine this to be criminal in nature," Johnson wrote in his one-page ruling.

The judge also noted that jail procedure has been changed so that an inmate's prior medical records from the jail are immediately provided at the time of a new arrest and booking.

Preyer, 45, of Pensacola, had a history of mental illness, authorities said. He had been arrested for failing to appear in court for an aggravated battery charge. Preyer had become combative and was strapped in a restraint chair at the jail, authorities said. He calmed down in the chair, but got aggressive after he was released. Deputies then tried to restrain him and shot him with a Taser twice to subdue him, the sheriff's office

Preyer later died at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.

The judge also noted that jail procedure has been changed so that an inmate's prior medical records from the jail are immediately provided at the time of a new arrest and booking.

Preyer, 45, of Pensacola, had a history of mental illness, authorities said. He had been arrested for failing to appear in court for an aggravated battery charge.

Preyer had become combative and was strapped in a restraint chair at the jail, authorities said. He calmed down in the chair, but got aggressive after he was released. Deputies then tried to restrain him and shot him with a Taser twice to subdue him, the sheriff's office reported.Preyer later died at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.