Officials dispute inmate’s family’s claims

Keith Paul

Friday, Dec. 22, 2000 | 10:37 a.m.

Family and friends of a man who reportedly hanged himself in his Clark County jail cell this month say he told a friend during a phone call that guards were beating him and he was fearful for his life.

Metro Police officials, however, say all the evidence they have indicates Antonio Addison, 20, committed suicide, and there is no evidence he was beaten by guards. Officials also said that Addison didn't make allegations of abuse during the phone call.

Addison, who was being held since Nov. 13 in the jail on attempted murder, burglary, robbery, attempted robbery and weapons charges, was reportedly found hanging from a bed sheet from the bars in his cell on Dec. 2. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he died Dec. 6.

A guard found Addison hanging from the sheet about 15 minutes after Addison had made a phone call. Addison was being held in a one-person cell away from general population because of discipline problems, said Capt. Henry Hoogland of the jail.

The call was to a former girlfriend, Elonda Black, who said Addison told her the guards had been messing with him.

"He said the guards had pushed him into a wall," Black said. "He said he was tired of it. He never said that (he was going to kill himself) because that's not him."

But Metro officials said Black's recollection of the conversation is not accurate.

"That's just a total misrepresentation of the reality of that phone call," Undersheriff Richard Winget said. "He expressed to her he was going to commit suicide, and she spent time trying to talk him out of it."

He added that Addison didn't even make any claim of abuse during the conversation. Authorities listened to a tape of the call after he was found hanging. Addison was not on suicide watch and had not expressed to guards any thoughts of suicide, jail officials said.

Winget said investigators know what was said between Addison and Black because phone calls from the jail are recorded, and they have the recording of the conversation.

Homicide detectives, who investigate deaths at the jail, concluded their investigation and determined Addison's death to be a suicide, Deputy Chief Ray Flynn said.

Lt. Wayne Petersen of the homicide section said there were no marks on Addison's body indicating he had been beaten.

About 20 of Addison's friends and family gathered outside of the jail Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil. At times the group cried while remembering Addison and at other times shouted toward the jail demanding answers.

"All I want is the truth," said Elnora Addison, Antonio Addison's mother. "They've got to show me how he did that to himself. That's not him. He hadn't even been to court yet."

Addison was scheduled to make a court appearance Dec. 5 on the charges.

Andre Crockett, Elnora Addison's cousin, said the family has been contacted by a jail inmate who stated he and seven other inmates witnessed Antonio Addison being abused.

At one point during the vigil, a man who was just released from the jail told the family he saw Addison being beaten, and Addison was put into "the hole" half dead.

That sent Elnora Addison, who buried her son Thursday, wailing as family members comforted her.

Winget said there wasn't any trauma on Antonio Addison's body to support those claims.

An internal investigation into Addison's death is continuing to determine whether all department policies were followed. Addison's mother has contacted an attorney and is undecided if she will file suit against Metro.

The coroner's office is waiting on toxicology tests before ruling on Addison's death. Clark County Coroner Ron Flud said the absence of ligature marks on his neck were because a sheet was used and not a braided type of rope that would leave marks on his neck.

Including Addison's death there have been three deaths this year in the jail attributed to suicide, and there have been six other attempted suicides, Hoogland said.

Since 1995, there have been 13 deaths in the jail ruled suicides, he said.