OVERTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — He was arrested and locked in jail with no charges against him.
His only offense was being mentally ill.
Jonathan Hargis, 52, died a day later when Overton County sheriff's deputies tried to force him into a restraint chair. Just last month, his family won a $3.5 million settlement in a case, which highlights Tennessee's broken mental health system.
Haley Hargis, 22, can't believe her father is gone.
"I miss my dad almost every day. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him," Hargis said.
Her father struggled with mental illness, including schizophrenia. She said he had more good days than bad, but he could not always afford his medication.
"He wasn't violent or dangerous when he had episodes. He would be very agitated or yell and talk to himself," Hargis said.
Back in March of 2021, Jonathan Hargis left his home in Ohio and went to Livingston in Overton County to care for a family member. Shortly after Hargis arrived, Livingston Police received 911 calls about an angry man, acting oddly.
"There's a guy walking through our parking lot," a caller told the 911 operator. "He went out there and kicked the dumpster."
He also walked into someone's yard where he started swearing at their dog, according to court documents. Officers responded and took Hargis to Livingston Regional Hospital.
But he did not stay long.
Overton County had a policy for dealing "with a mentally disturbed person who is threatening to commit suicide."
If "they become combative," they could be taken "for involuntary hold at the jail without a warrant."
It meant mentally ill people were routinely held at the jail even though they had no criminal charges.
According to Haley's lawsuit — which claims her father was falsely imprisoned — 52 mentally ill people were held at the Overton County Jail from 2020 through January 2022 while the policy was in place.
Body cam video shows an officer taking Hargis from the hospital to the county jail. He was not in handcuffs, because he had not been charged with a crime and because they did not want Hargis to know where he was going.
The transporting officer told another officer to call ahead to the jail.
"Do me a favor. I don't want him to hear me. Go by phone, call Barbara and tell them to make sure the sallyport's clear. Because if we don't, we will wrestle him outside," the officer said.
Jonathan Hargis thought he was going to get his favorite drink — a Mountain Dew.
"I'm 10-8 with this gentleman from the ER going to the other place," the officer said into his car radio.
"Why would you want to make a policy and not get that person help? But you would rather throw them in jail. What good does that do for the people?" Haley Hargis said.
A doctor at Livingston Hospital had determined Hargis needed to go to a psychiatric hospital. Hargis did not have insurance and it can take days for availability to open at a state-run psychiatric hospital.
In a video deposition, the jail administrator said Hargis was in the jail waiting to get into Moccasin Bend, the state-run psychiatric hospital.
"He's here for safekeeping until he can get a bed at Moccasin Bend?" an attorney asked.
The jail administrator, Amanda Poore, responded, "Yes sir."
Haley Hargis said a jail is the last place her father needed to be.
"He wasn't doing anything wrong. He was going through a mental health crisis," Hargis said.
On the body cam video, Hargis seemed surprised when he arrived at the booking area.
"What's this?" Hargis asked as he walked into the booking room.
But he continued to cooperate even as he was being booked.
"Put your hands on the counter for me," a female officer said.
"What did you say?" Hargis asked.
"Hands on the counter," A male officer said.
"Yes sir," Hargis replied.
But the cooperation ended when officers tried to put Hargis in a jail cell. Several officers shoved him inside his cell. They then discussed how he had no criminal charges — at least not yet.
"No charges?" One officer asked.
"No charges right now, yet. The day is not over though," another officer said.
"He'll get one," a third officer said.
Hargis was in that cell for 29 hours until officers noticed he was hurting himself.
So, they brought over a restraint chair and tried to force him into it.
"They were trying to get Mr. Hargis into the chair so they could clean his face off," the jail administrator Poore said during her deposition.
Sadly in the struggle, Hargis died.
Haley's lawsuit alleged excessive force and claimed multiple officers put pressure on his back while he was on his stomach causing him to suffocate.
The autopsy report listed the cause of death as "asphyxia" and the manner of death as a "homicide."
"Mr. Hargis was completely combative. He wasn't cooperating," Poore said in her deposition.
She defended what happened saying it was unavoidable.
"I feel like there was nothing we could have done," Poore concluded.
Haley disagrees.
"If it wasn't for that policy my dad never would have been in jail," Hargis said.
She said her father needed a hospital, not a jail cell.
"They took a person away. It's somebody who will never be there again," Hargis said.
Just last month, Hargis settled her lawsuit for $3.5 million from the county, the city of Livingston, and their insurance carriers.
The city and county admitted no wrongdoing.
A TBI investigation found no criminal wrongdoing for any of the officers involved.
Sheriffs from other counties emphasize that people with no insurance should not have to wait days to get into a psychiatric hospital like Mocassin Bend.
They have said Tennessee desperately needs more beds at its psychiatric hospitals.
