Malcolm James' jail death: No criminal charges to be filed, DA says

RACINE, Wis. - No criminal charges will be filed after Malcolm James died while in custody at the Racine County jail on June 1, 2021. The Racine County District Attorney's Office made that announcement on Thursday, Jan. 6.

The 25-page written decision and pertinent expert reports from the James incident can be found on the Racine County website. 

James, 27, was on suicide watch on June 1, 2021. He had been arrested for arson and more than a dozen counts of recklessly endangering safety. The Racine County Sheriff's Office had previously shared video of James hitting his head against the wall in his cell.

But for the first time, we are seeing the moments prior to James' in-custody death – where officers attempted to remove prongs after a taser was used on him. 

In the newly-released video, there are six officers in view. James' handcuffs slip off. An officer puts them on again. As they continue to remove the prongs, James remains in a forward position. 

Officers soon realize something is wrong and call for medical help. In an August 2021 autopsy report, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office ruled James died of asphyxiation.

Racine County D.A. Tricia Hanson stated in a news release that she met with the family and loved ones of James on Wednesday evening. She stated, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the James family for their loss."

A news release from the Racine County Sheriff's Office notes the district attorney relied on the following expert opinions in coming to her decision:

• Dr. Jessica Lelinski, Milwaukee County Assistant Medical Examiner:  Despite no physical signs of asphyxia, she ruled the cause of death was asphyxia due to her review of the video recovered in the case. Dr. Lelinski advised that asphyxia is a diagnosis of exclusion when nothing else is obvious.
• Dr. Tom Neuman, National Expert in Respiratory Physiology and Asphyxia: Does not agree that asphyxiation was the cause of death: "Given what appears to be the sequence of events in this case, asphyxiation is essentially impossible," Neuman said [Neuman Report p1]. He believes Mr. James was not bent forward in a manner for him to have died of asphyxia. Mr. James suffered from significant heart disease, obesity, hypertensive cardiovascular disease and an enlarged heart that would have put him at risk for a sudden cardiac death.  Dr. Neuman believes that a cardiac incident was the cause of death.
• Dr. Darrell Ross, National Expert in Use of Force in Law Enforcement, Corrections: Through Mr. James’ threatening, self-injurious, and dangerous behaviors, he created the need for the officers to provide him with close supervision. It was clear that Mr. James needed to be controlled, relocated for his safety and seen by medical staff. It would have been inappropriate and cruel to not intervene. The use of force by correction officers was appropriate and reasonable to protect Mr. James. "The actions of the officers did not cause nor contribute to the death of Mr. James."[Ross report p 23]

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Reaction by James family, attorney, supporters

The family of James disagrees with the district attorney's decision – and says officers did not follow their training.

"You're going to hear on the video an officer describing; these are like Keystone Cops. I mean it's horrible. They said, 'Malcolm, this is only going to take about ten seconds to remove these prongs.' OK? Because it should take ten seconds if you have the removal tool," said Attorney Kevin O'Connor. "And they said, 'OK, so we're going to move you forward.' They moved him forward for three minutes because they didn't even have the tool to remove it when they're doing it to him. I mean, it's crazy what they were doing. This was a horrible procedure. Anybody that looks at this and says that this is the proper procedure, you'll see it. You'll be like, what are they doing?"

Again, the district attorney's report quotes the opinions of a medical expert and a use of force expert hired by the state. She provided their findings as well where they dispute James died of asphyxiation, instead saying his underlying health conditions caused a "cardiac death." A use of force expert said officers following their training, as James was exhibiting dangerous behaviors.

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"I’ve never seen it. I’ve never seen a prosecutor hire the defense expert for them," O'Connor said.

The James family also takes issue with the contracted nurse who examined James and then attempted to revive him. As they say, she did not act with urgency. In the end, the nurse was let go, but the officers involved remain on paid leave.

"The journey to justice is running right through Racine -- and we're not leaving until we get it for this family," said Bishop Tavis Grant of the Rainbow Push Coalition.

"They try to portray my son like a monster. And I told them my son was a gentle giant. He was a gentle giant. So soft-spoken," said Sherry James, Malcolm James' mother. "I will never see him again. I will never see him again."

"He didn't need to die -- and they killed him. That is what the last minutes of his life show," O'Connor said.

District Attorney Hanson said she would not be taking questions from the media after her report was released.

Officials with the Racine County Sheriff's Office said they are still conducting their own internal review of James' in-custody death.

The Wisconsin Office of Detention Facilities is also conducting a review.

Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling statement

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Malcolm James’ family as we work with mental health professionals to improve the services provided to people in need. As Sheriff, I appreciate the professionalism and compassion shown by my correctional officers in attempting to deescalate a volatile situation by speaking to Malcolm James with dignity and respect as they tried to stop him from continuing to harm himself and to get him the medical care he needed.

"In this case, Malcolm James had been seen by multiple medical and mental health professionals, including two visits to the hospital within a 24-hour-period; however, Malcolm James still tragically died."

"Upon completion of the reviews of this incident, I welcome the opportunity to continue these discussions with the mental health professionals and the community at large to determine how we can all better assist people experiencing mental health issues."