Family of man who died after release from KY jail demands facility be shut down
The family of a Madison County man who died after being released from a local jail is calling for the Department of Corrections to shut down the detention center.
Dion Watts, 42, a father of six, died Jan. 6 at University of Kentucky Medical Center — five days after he was involved in an “altercation” with jail staff inside the entryway to the Madison County Detention Center, leaving him with a broken ankle.
Now, the family, state and local officials are demanding answers about what happened between Watts’ interaction in the jail and his death.
“What did you do to deescalate, to preserve life, and to recognize the rights of a human being?” Akil Secret, a lawyer for Watts’ family, said at a news conference Tuesday in Lexington.
Watts’ death was the latest connected to the long-troubled Madison County Detention Center, which in recent years has had the second-most inmate deaths of any jail in Kentucky, according to a 2025 Herald-Leader analysis of jail deaths.
According to court records, Watt was arrested just before 11:30 p.m. Dec. 31 and charged with third-degree criminal trespassing after staff at a Redi Mart on Second Street in Richmond called police to report they had closed the store and Watts refused to leave.
A Richmond police officer wrote in a citation that Watts was asked to leave several times. The officer offered Watts a ride to a friend’s house or somewhere else, but Watts said he had nowhere to go and said he “preferred to go to jail.”
Madison District Court records indicate he was booked in jail and released at 11:40 p.m. Jan. 1.
He died five days later in a hospital.
The Department of Corrections, which oversees Kentucky jails, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Body camera footage
The Lexington Herald-Leader obtained five officers’ body camera footage that shows the moments before, during and after Watts altercation inside the entryway to the jail.
The footage, obtained through the Kentucky Open Records Act, shows Deputy Jailer Mark Murphy flipping Watts into the air and taking him to the ground.
A Richmond police officer runs up to the men trying to restrain Watts, who repeatedly screams that officers are “trying to kill me.”
Watts’ ankle is visibly broken during the scrum.
It’s unclear if Murphy is still employed by the Madison County jail.
In the footage, deputies can be heard saying that before the altercation, they wanted to take Watts to a hospital, but he refused to take an ambulance. However, he agreed to go to the hospital if jail staff would take him personally.
Jail staff did not indicate why they were going to take him to the hospital, but family and friends of Watts said he had a “well-documented” history of mental health issues.
It is unclear if the deputies were planning to take him, as he requested, or if private transport is even allowed as part of their protocol.
What the police citation says
In the citation, the Richmond police officer wrote that he was preparing to leave the facility on the night of the altercation when a deputy jailer said he needed to speak with him.
The officer went to his cruiser, and as he opened the door to come back into the jail, he wrote, “Watts began to yell and slammed the door shut.”
“Once Murphy and Watts were on the ground, I began to assist Murphy in gaining control of Watts who was physically resisting us both,” the officer wrote.
The officer said Watts tried to grab items off his duty vest, and as a result the officer “performed several knee strikes to the back of Watts and heel palm strikes to the face in an attempt to gain control.”
Several other officers soon arrived “and assisted in handcuffing and controlling Watts,” Haddix wrote.
“Dion Watts was cited and released at the University of Kentucky Hospital due to receiving medical treatment for broken ankle and other medical reasons,” the citation states.
Watts’ family was not notified he was in the hospital until Jan. 5 — four days after he was released from jail, and a day before he died, said Watts’ uncle, Vic Watts.
Jail staff never contacted the Watts family despite having their phone number and having contacted them previously, Vic Watts said.
Dion Watts was charged Jan. 2 with resisting arrest and two counts of third-degree assault of a police or probation officer, according to court records.
Officials speak out about embattled detention center
Autopsy results, including Watts’ cause of death, were pending as of Feb. 3, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
Noel Caldwell, a lawyer for Watts’ family, said Watts’ handcuffs were so tight, he suffered a lack of blood circulation that shut down his vital organs.
Watt’s death prompted statements from the Madison County NAACP and Richmond Mayor Robert Blythe, both of whom called for internal and independent investigations.
Kentucky Sen. Keturah Herron D-Louisville, issued a statement Tuesday sharing she knew Watts and his family.
“Transparency, independent investigation, and public accountability are necessary to understand what happened to Dion Watts and to prevent future deaths,” Herron wrote in a news release. “Dion deserved care and compassion. His family deserves clear answers. Communities across Kentucky deserve systems that protect life and dignity.”
Kentucky State Police are conducting an investigation, and the Madison County Detention Center opened an internal investigation.
Watts’ family say they intend to file a lawsuit.
“Madison County ranks second in Kentucky for jail deaths,” Herron, said. “That statistic raises serious concerns about detention practices, the use of force, and whether people in crisis are receiving appropriate care rather than escalation.”
