Here's an update on the status of the lawsuit WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler filed back in 2019 against Hardeman County, TN over the death of his son Brian "Christopher" Lawler in 2018 while incarcerated following a DUI arrest.
The lawsuit is still making its way towards a jury trial, which is currently slated for 5/23/2022.
In recent months, Lawler's attorneys have been taking the depositions of a number of the defendants and witnesses, including Sheriff John Doolen, who Lawler stated in the lawsuit had promised him that Brian would receive help for his addiction issues while incarcerated. Instead, Lawler alleged Brian was never provided with any sort of treatment while incarcerated. Jerry Lawler stated in the lawsuit that he felt betrayed by Doolen over that broken promise.
Jerry Lawler is seeking $3 million in damages, plus additional compensatory damages if the court sees fit to award them. Lawler is also seeking a court order forcing Hardeman County to force immediate changes to prevent any additional suicides of prisoners in Hardeman County custody, noting, "the order should require "Hardeman County to correct their unconstitutional deficiencies so that no other family has to go through what this family has had to endure over the past year."
Brian Lawler was taken off life support on 7/29/18 at the age of 46, one day after he was found hanging in his cell in Bolivar, TN, where he had been incarcerated after being arrest for DUI several weeks before.
The lawsuit alleges the Hardeman County Sheriff’s Office “failed to provide Brian with any treatment for his drug and alcohol issues” during Lawler’s incarceration and “altogether failed to provide him with appropriate care after he was assaulted by another inmate” the day of Lawler’s death. In the lawsuit, Jerry Lawler stated that the only reason he did not bail his son out was that he explained to the Sheriff Doolen that Brian needed help for addiction issues and was “promised” Brian would get the proper treatment for his personal issues. Instead, Brian was never provided with any sort of treatment while incarcerated. Jerry Lawler stated in the lawsuit that he felt betrayed by Doolen over that broken promise.
Lawler is also claiming negligence on behalf of the correction officers who were supposed to be supervising Brian Lawler. He is alleging that one officer saw Brian in the corner of his cell with a towel over his head, but instead of checking on the former WWE star, the officer ignored him, choosing to take garbage out instead. When the officer returned, he saw Christopher in the same position and, with a co-worker, finally checked on him. At that point, they became aware Christopher hung himself but even their attempts to rescue him were ill-prepared, as they used a pair of children’s scissors to attempt to cut him free.
Lawler alleged in the lawsuit that if the Hardeman County Sheriff’s office had been better prepared and had their staff immediately acted upon seeing Brian sitting in the corner with a towel over his face, Brian’s life may have been saved.
\The Lawler family has long disputed the idea that Brian’s death was self-inflicted.
Lawler’s lawsuit alleges that Hardeman County officials declined Brian Lawler’s requests to be taken to a hospital to be treated for a wound over his eye and ignored his concerns that he may have suffered a concussion. Instead, he was put into solitary confinement, where he was later found hanging. The lawsuit also alleged that Brian was never evaluated for suicide risk and that the cell he was placed in featured “Large bolts protruding from the cell [that] could be used as an anchor for the shoe laces used in the hanging”
So the case is still active.
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