‘I don’t want to die’: Family of woman who died in jail files wrongful death lawsuit

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Her last words to her mother were “I don’t want to die…pray for me mom.”

Now, the mother of a 32-year-old woman who died while in the throes of drug addiction at the Whitley County Jail nearly two years ago is suing the county’s sheriff, the jail commander and various members of the jail staff in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday.

Tamara Meyers’ attorneys said in the suit the Whitley County Jail staff did not do enough to help Tia Meyers, who was found unresponsive on the floor of a cell at 6:57 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2020.

Attempts to revive her by staff as well as emergency responders were unsuccessful and her death was ruled an accident due to methamphetamine, according to a coroner’s report.

In the lawsuit, Tia Meyers is referred to as a daughter, a mother and a friend to many. She was also addicted to drugs, mainly heroin, cocaine and crack, the lawsuit said, which research shows she would’ve been a part of 65 percent of the population in correctional facilities.

“Unfortunately, the Whitely County Sheriff’s Department, it’s Jail Officers, and the Jail’s medical provider, Quality Correctional Care, LLC, were woefully unprepared to handle inmates like Tia who suffer from substance abuse disorders and who are at risk for medical emergencies resulting from both alcohol and drug acute toxicity and withdrawal,” an introductory statement from the lawsuit said.

Meyers was arrested Aug. 26 on a warrant issued after she failed to appear for a court hearing regarding criminal misdemeanor drug charges. She was booked into Whitley County Jail where she admitted that she had smoked heroin and crack that morning and used drugs every day for the past six months, the lawsuit said.

According to the suit, she began experiencing withdrawal symptoms almost immediately after being put into a detox cell.

Jail staff forced Meyers to quit “cold turkey,” and then would merely peek into her cell for a few seconds, the lawsuit said.

During her first two days in the jail some staff did go into her cell and observe her, but during her final 24 hours at the jail nobody walked into the cell, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also accuses jail staff of not allowing Meyers to have medication for withdrawal symptoms.

“If any officer or medical personnel had physically checked on Tia, they would have realized she was experiencing a life-threating medical emergency and lapsed into a coma,” the lawsuit said. “If any officer or medical personnel had physically checked on her during this time frame, Tia would have been taken to a hospital immediately and she would have survived.”

On Aug. 27, jail video shows and records Meyers screaming for help and telling jail staff she could not feel her legs, according to the lawsuit. Other detainees heard her begging for help, as well, and later she told staff she could not bend or feel her hands.

On Aug. 28, Tamara Meyers had her last talk with her daughter.

That’s when the younger woman asked her mother to pray for her and that she didn’t want to die, according to the lawsuit.

The next morning she was found unresponsive with rigor mortis already setting in, court document said.

Meyers’ family is seeking damages.