For the second time, a federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a wrongful death suit in the case of a woman who died in the back of a patrol car after she was hogtied.
Last week, federal judges dismissed a $10 million lawsuit filed by the family of Debbie Denise Loggins, a Carroll County woman who died on Sept. 17, 2005. In an initial autopsy in 2005, the state pathologist found no “foul play” in her death and toxicology reports showed no alcohol or drugs. Nearly six months later, the same pathologist ruled Loggins’ death an accident stating that her body temperature was 107.5 degrees. His official ruling was hyperthermia or heatstroke.
According to court documents, Loggins’ family contended that she died of suffocation and that her civil rights were denied while she was in the custody of the Carroll County sheriff’s deputies.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed stating that it found no evidence that Loggins’ constitutional rights were violated.
In 2008, U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled that Loggins’ death did not result from force used by the sheriff’s department and the $15 million lawsuit filed by Loggins’ family against the three deputies involved was also dismissed.
From the very beginning, Don Gray, who was the Carroll County Sheriff at the time of Loggins’ death, has maintained his deputies followed complete protocol and “acted properly given the circumstances…”
“Following Ms. Loggins’ death, I immediately contacted the Criminal Bureau of Investigations,” Gray said, “and asked that they conduct an investigation into Ms. Loggins’ death.”
Gray said on Sept. 17, 2005, around 5:45 a.m., his deputies responded to a call of two women fighting in North Carrollton. When they arrived, Loggins reportedly had another woman in a headlock position and she became “verbally and physically combative” when deputies tried to intervene. Deputies testified that it took two to three deputies to place her in handcuffs and leg shackles.
Gray said Loggins was still trying to kick the deputies.
“They had difficulty getting her into the car because she was putting her legs up and blocking them. That’s when they put on the third device….and we’ve done this before. With that kind of restraint, there was very little she could do as far as hurting anybody, the car or herself.”
Loggins was charged with disorderly conduct, assault on an officer and resisting arrest. She was transported to a Grenada jail by Deputy Charles Jones.
Jones advised the sheriff’s department that Loggins continued to “fight her restraints” as he was traveling on U.S. Highway 82 and Interstate 55. Jones told Gray that Loggins began to “settle down” as they neared the Duck Hill exit.
When they arrived at the women’s detention center, Jones testified that Loggins was unresponsive. Life-saving measures began immediately and an ambulance transported Loggins to Grenada Lake Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead by an emergency room physician. Loggins was 33-years old and reportedly had six children.
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