Hurt Oklahoma teen’s mom seeks $27.5M damages

BY JAY F. MARKS

Published: November 14, 2008

The mother of a 15-year-old boy injured earlier this year at the Oklahoma County Juvenile Detention Center is seeking more than $27 million in damages, claiming her son was assaulted by a guard or another inmate.

Tayzion Smith

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An investigation of Tayzion Smith’s injuries found no wrongdoing on the part of any guards at the detention center, an Oklahoma County sheriff’s spokeswoman said Thursday.

Smith’s mother, Tamika Colbert, filed a civil rights lawsuit late Wednesday in federal court in Oklahoma City. It alleges officials at the center failed to provide safe living conditions for her son or properly treat his medical needs.

Colbert also accuses the county of negligence and is seeking $27.5 million in damages.

Smith was injured in April after being arrested on a complaint of possessing stolen property.

Smith had a fever, a knot on his forehead and a swollen nose, according to the lawsuit.

Smith ended up in a local hospital the next day. Doctors discovered he had suffered a "horrific brain injury,” attorney Rand Eddy said.