NEW ORLEANS — A federal jury found the private company that operates a Louisiana prison responsible for the 2015 death of a man who died from head injuries he suffered while in custody, and awarded the family more than $40 million in damages.
Lawyers representing the family of Erie Moore Sr. say they believe the verdict handed down this week in the Western District of Louisiana is one of the highest jury awards for an in-custody death in the United States.
“For the last 10 years, my sisters and I have suffered, knowing that he has a hard time resting,” said his son, Erie Moore Jr. “This trial brought light where there was darkness. It brought truth, justice and peace to our family.”
Moore was a 57-year-old factory worker, father of three, with no criminal record. He was arrested on October 12, 2015, for disorderly conduct at a donut shop in Monroe, Louisiana.
Moore became “agitated and unruly” while in custody at Richwood Correctional Center, according to court records. His lawyer Max Schoening says Moore was “mentally unwell” at the time he was taken into custody.
Schoening says guards pepper-sprayed him at least eight times during the 36 hours he spent in jail.
Court records, including prison surveillance footage introduced into evidence and reviewed by The Associated Press, show Moore was forcibly brought down by several guards. Other footage showed guards lifting Moore by his feet and cuffing his hands when one of the guards tripped and Moore's head fell to the ground.
Moore was then taken to a secluded area of the prison without security cameras. He was held there, out of sight, for nearly two hours, during which no one sought medical attention, court records show.
“The jury found that the guards continued to use excessive force against Mr. Moore in an area where there were no cameras,” Schoening said. “When deputies from another law enforcement agency arrived to pick him up and transport him to another jail, they found him unconscious and completely unresponsive.”
When Moore eventually arrived at the hospital, he was already in a coma and died about a month later, court records show. The Ouachita Parish coroner ruled Moore's death a homicide due to head injuries.
A federal jury found three security guards liable for negligence, battery and excessive force. The jury also found LaSalle Management Co., which operates Richwood Correctional Center, responsible for Moore's death due to the negligence of at least one of its guards.
Schoening added that no one has been criminally charged in Moore's death.
The jury ordered LaSalle and Richwood to pay $23.25 million in punitive damages and $19.5 million in restitution to Moore's three adult children.
“This is the largest settlement I've ever heard of,” said Jay Aronson, a Carnegie Mellon University professor and author of “Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do About It.”
The city of Monroe contracted with Richwood Correctional Center to house its prison from 2001 to 2019. LaSalle, which is part of the same business enterprise that operates Richwood Correctional Center, operates detention facilities in Louisiana and Texas, court documents show.
Richwood Correctional Center now serves as a federal immigration detention facility. Last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said LaSalle was “an important part of ICE's detention system.”
LaSalle did not respond to requests for comment sent to its lawyers or a representative. Monroe city officials declined to comment.
“Arie Moore Sr.'s life was a gift to his family and community. LaSalle Management Co. ended it with complete indifference,” Schoening said. “That, despite enormous odds, they achieved justice for their father and a historic victory for civil rights in this country is a testament to the love, courage and resilience of his children.”
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Brooke is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
