OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A woman is suing Douglas County over what her lawsuit calls the “clown-sized shoes” she was forced to wear by jail officials that caused her to fall, breaking her nose, dentures and hand.
Maureen Henderson, 59, was being held at the Douglas County Jail on a shoplifting charge in January 2020 when she was issued orange jail togs, socks, and plastic slippers that were at least four sizes too big, according to her lawsuit filed this month and reported by the Omaha World-Herald.
When she asked for different shoes, she was told none were available, the lawsuit says. She was wearing the too-large shoes when she was forced to shuffle to a hearing while cuffed at the hands and ankles attached to a chain around her waist, she said in the lawsuit. The oversized shoes became tangled in the chain, causing her to fall, she said. Because she was shackled, she was unable to catch herself, hitting face-first on the marble tile floor and leaving her face bloodied, she said.
Her attorney, Tom White of Omaha, also said in the lawsuit that jail staff did not provide Henderson with medical care for nearly two weeks, when X-rays revealed her broken bones.
Douglas County has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.
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