Lawsuit filed against Gaston County sheriff in 2022 jail death

The estate of a man who died in the Gaston County Jail in 2022 filed a lawsuit against the sheriff and county on Aug. 2, alleging negligence.

Dillon Raymond Teague, 29, who was being held on misdemeanor offenses and a probation violation, suffered a medical emergency on Aug. 3, 2022, just days after being placed in the Gaston County Jail.

Each of three claims in the case is seeking compensatory damages of over $75,000, in addition to other damages as allowed by North Carolina law, attorneys’ fees, and any other relief the court deems necessary. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of North Carolina.

According to the complaint, “Mr. Teague called for help from deputy jailers, but his calls for assistance were ignored.”

Shortly after, he went into cardiac arrest and was transported to CaroMont Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The complaint alleges that the jail staff failed to conduct the required supervision rounds and neglected to provide the necessary medical care, contributing to Teague’s death.

“Defendants’ failure to keep continuous custodial supervision of Mr. Teague was a direct and proximate cause of Mr. Teague’s death,” the complaint states.

The North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation investigated the incident and found that “jail officers were not supervising inmates as required by the state’s administrative code,” according to the complaint.

Specifically, officers missed two supervision rounds in Teague’s block and left inmates alone for more than 40 minutes.

The lawsuit names Gaston County, former Sheriff Alan Cloninger, current Sheriff Chad Hawkins, and Deputy Sheriff Becky Cauthran as defendants.

Hawkins did not respond to an email from The Charlotte Observer offering a chance to comment on the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that the defendants “had a custom of failing to provide sufficient competency-based training for detention facility officers and other agents in recognizing when an inmate required immediate medical intervention.”