MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The SCSO was hit with a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday after a man died while at the Shelby County Jail.

The lawsuit says Antonio Davis was deprived of his constitutional rights and subjected to unlawful treatment during his incarceration at the Shelby County Jail. On the day of his death, the suit says Davis was experiencing a “mental health crisis.”

It was reported that only two of the 15 supervisors on staff showed up to work at the time of his death. The lawsuit said the understaffing and lack of sufficient mental health personnel, as well as not being transported to the nursing station, led to Davis’s death.

According to the suit, six defendants, which include Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, acted with deliberate indifference when they failed to take reasonable measures to guarantee his safety. They also deprived him of basic, necessary, and immediate medical care resulting in his death.

Davis was determined to have died from a meth overdose.

The suite went on to compare the Shelby county Jail to Rikers Island, saying in 2022, there were 14 pre-trial deaths in Shelby County and 16 in Rikers Island– which has twice as many inmates.

WREG will provide more updates as they become available.