Maurice King

On March 4, 2020, Maurice King, 34, died in his jail cell in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Security video showed four inmates entering King’s cell, including a 22-year-old inmate who was later charged with involuntary manslaughter in King’s death. A video also showed two detention officers did not check on King’s cell or others in the pod during required rounds. The officers walked by numerous cells without looking in. A state Department of Health and Human Services investigation found the officers had violated regulations requiring each inmate to be checked at least twice an hour.

Approximately 90 minutes after the assault, detention officers discovered King “lying down, soaking wet, with visible swelling and bleeding of the left eye, complaining of shortness of breath and aches and pains throughout his body.” King went into cardiac arrest and died later that evening at a hospital.

In May 2021 King’s mother has sued the sheriff and nine staff members, saying they created an unsafe environment in which an inmate was allowed to control a jail pod.