Zachary

Zachary Goldson

Zachary Goldson

died 15 minutes after arrest

In October 2013, Zachary Goldson was found dead in his prison cell 15 minutes after being arrested by officers of the Brown, Ohio Police Department. On that day, the man allegedly attacked a law enforcement officer.

In the footage from the video taken by the officer’s body camera, police officers can be heard shouting at Goldson during the arrest that they “would like to break his f*g neck right now.” According to the official police report, 15 minutes after the man was taken to the temporary detention center, one of the police officers discovered that Goldson had hanged himself. Sheriff’s deputies told his mother that her 24-year-old son wrapped a sheet around his own neck and committed suicide. They were not confused by the fact that Goldson, 187 centimeters tall, could not have reached the fire sprinkler to which he allegedly tied a sheet. In addition, according to the technical documentation, 20 kilograms is the maximum weight that a sprinkler can withstand, and Goldson weighed about 70.

Despite the indisputable evidence of the officers’ involvement in the man’s death, in June 2021, the jury ruled against Goldson’s sister, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against correctional officers.