Family Files Lawsuit in Death Of Inmate, Claims Negligence

William Creed Jr. uses the word "rage" to describe the emotion that simmers just below his quiet demeanor and spills across his face as he studies his dead son's autopsy report.

The paper is creased where it has been folded and unfolded for the past two years.

"Any stupid stuff will set me off. There's a very bad rage in me," said Creed, 49, sitting in his Lorton home this week. "When you get up every day knowing five people killed your son and there's nothing you can do about it, you don't feel worthy as a man."

Today marks two years from the day William H. "Billy" Creed III died in the Prince William County jail after being restrained. In that time, his father said he has tried to understand how a 27-year-old who was in jail for the first time died so suddenly, his body covered with bruises and shackle marks. Creed said he knows little more than this: His son was arrested Jan. 30, 2006, for grand larceny and was dead five days later after being pepper-sprayed, placed in a "spit mask" and strapped in a restraint chair by five jail staff members.

The autopsy listed the cause of death as stress-induced heart failure due to restraint-induced asphyxia and blunt trauma. It found blunt trauma to the back and neck "consistent with choke hold."

On Friday, the family filed a lawsuit in Prince William Circuit Court against the state and jail officials, claiming negligence.

The state attorney general's office and jail authorities said they could not comment on pending litigation. At the time of the death, jail officials said they were in the process of transferring Creed to another institution when he became "combative with a nurse" during a routine medical exam.

Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert said he investigated the incident and couldn't find any criminal wrongdoing.

"Nobody did an intentional wrong to the victim," he said.

It might have been that nobody intended to kill Creed, said the family's attorney, Greg Murphy, but "there was a total and callous disregard of his well being."

Creed had mental problems before his arrest, and jail staff members were aware of his condition, Murphy said. According to the lawsuit, Creed stole a car from a dealership after he abandoned his car behind an auto shop, cutting the wires under the hood because he thought gang members had placed a bomb in it. He was arrested the next morning after he returned the car to the dealership and apologized for taking it.

"Their son was not a miscreant or a bad person," Murphy said. "Instead of taking appropriate precautions, they just basically attacked him in order to subdue him."