McMinn County has denied malfeasance in a $25 million wrongful death suit filed in U.S. District Court by the son of a Hixson man who lost his life at the hands of another inmate at the county jail in 2018.
While being held Feb. 17, 2018, in the same cell during the booking process at the McMinn County Justice Center in Athens, Tennessee, Timothy Brian Cook, 48, was beaten and stomped to death by Jerrod Jones, who was subsequently convicted in March 2019 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 21 years in prison for Cook’s death.
Cook had been arrested by Athens police on a drunk driving charge and was awaiting booking, while Jones had been arrested on charges of shoplifting, theft and trespassing, and authorities said in 2018 that Jones had just used the phone prior to sitting down beside Cook. Cook died a week after the assault.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville by Cook’s son, Gavin Cook. The suit blames the death on McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy’s “clean slate” policy at the jail and “deliberate indifference” on the part of the county and its officers. The suit names McMinn County as the defendant. Chattanooga attorney Joshua P. Weiss is representing the son.
(READ MORE: Hixson man dies after ‘vicious’ beating from another inmate at McMinn County Jail)