JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (AP) - An autopsy on a Washington County inmate who died in April while in custody shows that the cause of death was “excited delirium” due to drug use, a statement issued Friday by the county sheriff and prosecutor said.
The autopsy showed that Stewart Peppers, 22, died on April 29 of excited delirium caused by the misuse of anabolic steroids, testosterone and marijuana, the statement said.
Peppers was pronounced dead at Johnson City Medical Center Hospital after he was found unresponsive in the Washington County Detention Center. The inmate became unresponsive while jailers were trying to restrain him due to “combative, bizarre and destructive behavior,” officials said.
“I support the officers involved in this incident,” Sheriff Ed Graybeal said in the statement. “They were confronted with a violent assault and, despite the tragic outcome, responded in an appropriate manner.”
Peppers’ parents have an entirely different view.
Joe and Natasha Peppers filed a $21 million lawsuit against the sheriff, the county and six jailers claiming that their son was beaten by guards after he started screaming obscenities. The federal lawsuit accuses guards of using a stun gun and chemical spray on the inmate during a 20-minute beating.
Peppers was one of five inmates who died while in custody at the Washington County Detention Center last year.
“Each of these deaths has been thoroughly investigated,” District Attorney General Tony Clark said in the statement. “The investigations have shown that there is no connection among the deaths and there is no wrongdoing on the part of anyone at the Detention Center.”
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