Family members of a 15-year-old boy who was beaten while in custody at the Oklahoma County Juvenile Detention Center last week said Thursday they are filing a lawsuit against the facility.
Tayzion Smith was booked into the juvenile detention center a little more than a week ago for allegedly possessing stolen goods. His mother, Tamika Colbert, visited him April 11 and noticed bruises.
She requested medical attention for him and asked if he could be separated for his own protection. She visited him the following day, and there was more bruising.
"On Sunday, I got a phone call from the hospital, and they told me my son was in intensive care,” Colbert said. "His sinus bone was crushed. He has a crack in his skull, and it is allowing in air. He's fighting for his life.”
In a tort notice given to the defendants in the case, Colbert's attorneys claim Oklahoma County detention officers "knowingly and recklessly” caused the boy's injuries. They claim they failed to provide protection for Smith, even though they were aware that he was at risk.
"Without my son, I really can't function. That's my only baby,” Colbert said, fighting back tears.
County commissioners provide oversight for the detention center.
They will not comment on the specifics of the case, but did say the sheriff's department has been asked to investigate.
There is reportedly ample surveillance footage that will shed light on who attacked Trayzion Smith and how it happened.
"We should be able to review it, and in the not too distant future, we will be able to comment on what happened,” said County Commissioner Ray Vaughn. "I am not aware of any other incidences like this that have occurred there. I am certainly not aware of any pattern of conduct that would lead to this.
"The juvenile justice center just went through an accreditation process. I don't think that would have occurred if there were an ongoing history of repeated abuse or neglect,” he added.
Many of the state's centers have recently been accredited. But there also is an ongoing lawsuit against the state over the treatment of its juvenile detainees.
Federal investigators found evidence that detention center staff at a facility in Sand Springs may have used excessive force, stood by and watched while juvenile inmates fought and had inappropriate sexual relationships with juvenile detainees.
"It's an ongoing investigation, that's what we're being told. But it's not a normal circumstance for a kid to get beaten so badly that he is fighting for his life,” said Greg Mitchell, attorney for the family.
"The gist of this is, we don't know what happened. We don't know who did this. But the employees at the facility should know. And they should have been able to stop it.”
If you would like to share your experience, please leave a comment below or you can e-mail Devona Walker directly at dwalker@oklahoman.com
