BROWNSTOWN – In an unusual turn of events on Saturday, June 22, 2024, a woman from Seymour found herself in legal limbo after being arrested for disorderly conduct, only to be ‘unarrested’ when the county jail refused to admit her due to her extremely high blood alcohol level.
Seymour police responded to a call about a distressed woman in a downtown alley. Upon arrival, officers found the woman intoxicated, with a bottle of whiskey protruding from her purse. The police report noted that her speech was slurred, and she struggled to remain upright. After an initial assessment by paramedics, who determined her only immediate concern was severe intoxication, she was transported to jail. The woman declined transportation to the emergency room.
Officers then arrested her for disorderly conduct and drove her 19 miles to the Jackson County Jail. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when jail staff administered a breathalyzer test, revealing the woman’s blood alcohol content to be 0.255 – a level deemed too high for intake by the facility.
At a subsequent Seymour City Council meeting, Jackson County Jail Commander Chris Everhart recounted the events: “We wouldn’t take her. That (alcohol level) is too high. We got to wait for their alcohol level to come down. My staff refuses.”
Initially, the arresting officer was instructed to wait in the parking lot with the woman. However, the Jail Commander reported that within five minutes, the officer called back with a change of plans: “They are unarrested. I’m going to leave her in the jail’s parking lot.”
Recognizing the potential danger of the situation, jail staff intervened. They called a cab for the woman, contacted her family, and waited with her outside the facility until she could be safely picked up.
The incident has raised concerns about liability and proper procedure. The Jail Commander questioned the city’s legal exposure, stating, “Is the city attorney aware of the liability those officers are putting on the city? Because if that person goes out on the highway, which everyone knows the jail is on, and gets hit by a car, who is liable for that?”
In response to the incident, Seymour Police Chief Greg O’Brien released a statement from City Attorney Christina Engleking: “As a result, the arresting officer filed charges against the subject with the Prosecutor’s Office and released the individual.”
This unusual case highlights the complexities that can arise at the intersection of law enforcement, public safety, and healthcare, particularly when dealing with highly intoxicated individuals.
At least three people have died while in custody at the Jackson County jail since 2021. Antonio Delmar Fox, 35, of Jackson, Mississippi, died in April 2024. While the jail staff spoke with him, Fox collapsed inside the cell. He had been arrested on drug charges. Ta’Neasha Chappel, 23, of Louisville, KY, died in July 2021. An autopsy ended in mystery, finding the cause of death to be probable toxicity from an unknown substance, with the manner of death undetermined. Joshua McLemore, 29, of Seymour, died in August 2021 from multiple organ failure as a result of dehydration and malnutrition after being locked in an isolation cell for three weeks. He had lost nearly 45 pounds while in solitary confinement.
