Family and neighbors say William Howard was never aggressive and always offered to help anyone who needed it.
But in November, he was accused in a brutal attack against his wife of 47 years. She was left with multiple stab wounds and told deputies she didn’t understand why he attacked her.
“They were in love. She knew he loved her very much. We all don’t understand. It just left us all completely baffled,” said Howard’s brother, Waverly Howard, 68. “And now we’ll never get the chance to understand what happened.”
That’s because three days after Howard, 75, was booked on an aggravated battery charge in the Orange County Jail, he was found unresponsive in his cell and later pronounced dead, documents show.
Correctional officers at the jail did a “takedown” on Howard when he was being moved to a psychiatric observation cell, which caused a neck fracture and his death, according to a 20-page review from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and an autopsy report.
The force was used after he didn’t cooperate as officers tried to move him to another cell, said Tracy Zampaglione, a spokeswoman for the jail.
Several officers are under internal investigation in the incident and three members of the nursing staff were reprimanded, including one who was terminated for not properly treating him after the takedown, according to internal documents from the jail.
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office reviewed the use of force and is not filing criminal charges against the officers, a May 8 letter sent to the jail shows. An internal investigation at the jail continues.
But Howard’s family is questioning why any force was needed.
“We’re talking about a 75-year-old man,” Waverly Howard said. “I mean, there’s not a whole lot of strength there. He was in jail and wasn’t armed. I can’t think of a reason why this was needed.”
It all started Nov. 18, two days after Howard was booked in the jail.
He was wandering around the common area of his housing area in the jail about 7:20 a.m. “talking to himself” and making “incoherent” statements. He was evaluated, placed on suicide watch and transferred to a different cell, according to the Sheriff’s Office investigation.
A few hours later, he was moved into another housing area for “psychological precautions.” But as officers were transferring him, Howard started walking away and yelling, “Just let me go! I cannot go back into that cell!” He was pepper sprayed and put into a “prone” position before officers took him to his cell. He was uninjured, according to the Sheriff’s Office review.
Later that night, officers told Howard they were going to transfer him to a “psychiatric observation cell” after his earlier behavior, but he responded by “mumbling and making incoherent statements,” the Sheriff’s Office review states. Officers continued to try to speak to Howard so they could handcuff and transport him, but video taken by Officer James Nelson shows Howard wandering around his cell.
Shortly before 11 p.m., Officer Ryan Wilson used pepper spray on him, because jailers said he was resisting. Then officers Richard LeBlanc and William Wilkinson were told by Cpl. Juan Padilla to “take him down,” the video shows.
It also shows Howard tensing up his body and yelling as officers try to wrestle him to the floor. At one point, he yelled for his wife, crying out “Carolyn!” and “I’m dead,” the Sheriff’s Office review states.
The review found that Wilkinson appeared to try to do a leg sweep, which caused Howard to fall, landing “head first on the floor.”
Video shows officers getting on top of him and putting him in handcuffs. Each of the four officers then grabbed one leg or arm and carried his limp body, face down, to a new cell.
During the rest of the seven-minute video, Howard isn’t shown moving, but he can be heard saying “Let me die.”
The jail’s use-of-force policy says a takedown can be used if an inmate doesn’t comply or respond. It’s defined in the policy as a technique that brings a subject to the ground to limit physical resistance.
After getting into his new cell, Howard was able to move and refused medical assistance, according to the Sheriff’s Office review. But most of the following day, Nov. 19, he lay on the floor of his cell. When he got up that night, he was in pain, the Sheriff’s Office review found.
He complained of neck and back pain, along with weakness and decreased sensation in his legs, according to notes in his autopsy.
But he wasn’t taken to the hospital until after he was found not moving and with no pulse in his cell, a review found. The following day he was pronounced dead.
The blunt force left Howard with a fractured neck and spinal cord damage, which ultimately led to brain swelling, hemorrhages and his death, his autopsy found.
An internal medical review found Rodney Martin, a registered nurse who was on duty at the jail, “took no action, performed no exam and documented nothing on this patient” after the attack even though he was “concerned about the patient’s well being.”
Martin was terminated Jan. 6 after the review found he violated several policies and procedures, including procedures for caring for an inmate with injuries, according to a letter from the Orange County Corrections Health Services Department.
Two other members of the nursing staff, Nancy Mendoza and Penelope Gray, were given written reprimands in Howard’s death, according to copies of the letters sent to them.
Both letters state Mendoza and Gray failed to document and follow through with Howard’s care.
Mendoza said that staff did not allow her to enter Howard’s cell initially, according to her reprimand letter.
Howard’s family says the maneuver used by officers was “unnecessary and overly aggressive” and said he died because his complaints of neck pain were ignored by medical staff, according to a statement provided by their lawyer, Howard Butler.
A clearance letter from the State Attorney’s Office says the officers acted in “response to what they reasonably perceived to be physical resistance” and no criminal charges would be filed against them.
Howard’s death was ruled a homicide, which means it was caused by another individual. Homicides aren’t considered criminal if a death is in self-defense or when an officer uses justified force.
“Nothing observed indicates these officers intentionally used deadly force while taking Mr. Howard into custody,” the letter reads.
Zampaglione, in a statement from the jail, said takedowns are used when “an officer needs to safely gain control or move an individual who is actively resisting,” and was “used after numerous and prolonged attempts were made to gain Mr. Howard’s cooperation in moving him to another cell.”
Roberto Potter, a professor at the University of Central Florida who specializes in the criminal justice system, said the force could have been necessary depending on Howard’s resistance but questioned the use of pepper spray.
“Just because these officers followed protocol doesn’t mean it was the right decision,” he said.
The jail’s use-of-force policy outlines that officers should consider a number of things before using force, including the inmate’s age, physical condition and the severity of the crime committed.
Howard’s isn’t the first controversial death at the Orange County Jail.
Max Gracia died after being bitten by an Orlando police dog in 2015. An internal investigation found he did not receive proper medical treatment and nurses thought he was faking or exaggerating his illness. He died after the bites led to an E. coli infection, which then caused a fatal blood infection, an autopsy shows.
Waverly Howard said he’s still in disbelief about his brother’s death.
“He was a handy man. Even though he was getting older, he still tried to do things and help others,” he said. “If you had a problem with your lawn mower or something, he would drop everything and help. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
chayes@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5493 or Twitter: @journo_christal
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