LaMonica Bratton, the mother of 35-year-old Chasity Bonner, filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against Tarrant County and ten jailers, alleging her daughter’s May 27, 2024, death in county custody stemmed from withheld medical care and deep institutional failures. The complaint asks a judge to force production of records and video and seeks damages for what Bratton’s attorneys describe as a long-running pattern of neglect. It is the latest legal challenge tied to a string of in-custody deaths that have stirred local outrage and persistent calls for transparency.
What the lawsuit alleges
The federal complaint says jail staff redacted roughly three minutes of security-camera footage in the moments before Bonner’s death and that corrections officers refused to provide proper medical aid, according to Fort Worth Report. The suit also claims eyewitnesses saw jailers bringing drugs into the facility and alleges that contraband recovered from Bonner’s cell came from staff. It faults county leaders for failing to adopt adequate policies, training, and supervision. The complaint names Tarrant County and 10 individual jailers and asks the court to compel records and allow discovery.
Family rejects the medical ruling
Bonner’s relatives have repeatedly challenged the official cause of death and pressed county officials for more documents and video, as detailed by KERA News. They argue the medical examiner’s conclusion does not line up with Bonner’s health history and say the county has been slow to share answers about what happened inside the jail. Tarrant County officials did not immediately comment on the new federal filing when reporters asked.
How she died and the jail's account
County records show Bonner was booked on May 16, 2024, on an alleged parole violation and was found unresponsive in her cell on May 27. Jail medical staff administered two doses of naloxone before she was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital and pronounced dead, according to reporting by the Dallas Morning News. The county medical examiner’s autopsy listed atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease as the cause of death, a determination that has not satisfied Bonner’s family. They say months of withheld records and delays have blocked clear answers about what happened in custody.
Allegations of contraband and a pattern of deaths
Bratton’s complaint casts Bonner’s death as part of a broader pattern of alleged failures at the jail, echoing earlier lawsuits that contend drugs have reached detainees and that medical and mental health needs went unmet, as reported by KERA News. Activists and some county officials have for months pushed for outside reviews and reforms after dozens of in-custody deaths during the sheriff’s tenure. Plaintiffs in prior suits argue the county’s procedures leave vulnerable people at risk and have sought discovery of internal policies and surveillance footage.
Where this fits in the county's legal fights
Tarrant County is already defending several high-profile cases tied to in-custody deaths, including litigation after the April 2024 death of Anthony Johnson Jr., which was ruled a homicide and led to indictments of two detention officers, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. County commissioners have at times approved outside counsel and defense funding while families press for more transparency and accountability. Bratton’s filing sends the county back into federal court and again zeroes in on video, medical logs, and the jail’s handling of contraband.
What’s next
The case now moves into the federal court system, where the county may file motions to dismiss or to limit discovery. Similar fights over footage and autopsies have already played out in local courtrooms. Bratton’s lawyers say the suit is aimed at prying loose records the family has been denied and holding officials to account. Civil rights attorneys note that these cases can take months or years and often force disclosure of internal training and supervision documents that later fuel reform debates.
