WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Editor's Note: Video from April 6, features John Neville's son speaking out after the indictment.
The family of a man who died while in custody at the Forsyth County jail has reached a settlement with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
John Neville died in custody in December 2019. Officers said Neville fell from his bunk during a medical episode, so staff moved him to an observation cell. An autopsy report revealed Neville died from a brain injury after he was restrained. Body camera footage showed Neville being held down by staff as they tried to remove his handcuffs.
Neville's son filed a lawsuit in September 2021 against the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, five detention officers, and a nurse after his father's death. The lawsuit alleged, “The detention officers and nurse who purported to assist Mr. Neville altogether failed to recognize the seriousness of his condition or to follow the policies set in place for handling inmates or detainees with serious health problems or who are experiencing a medical emergency."
A judge on Wednesday approved a $3 million settlement where the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough, Jr., Forsyth County and several detention officers and deputies agreed to pay.
In April, a grand jury decided against indicting the officers. They did indict the nurse, Michelle Heughins. She's charged with involuntary manslaughter.
She is not included in the settlement.
Neville's death sparked protests around Winston-Salem. In August 2020, Kimbrough announced the department banned the bent-leg prone restraint, a tactic the jail staff used on Neville before he died.