{"id":4091,"date":"2026-07-07T09:04:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T09:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2026-07-07T09:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T09:04:41","slug":"did-orange-jailers-delay-help-to-avoid-paperwork-fatal-assault-lawsuit-advances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4091","title":{"rendered":"Did Orange jailers delay help to avoid paperwork? Fatal assault lawsuit advances"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Two Orange County detention officers could face a jury trial over allegations they delayed checking on a dying inmate to avoid paperwork, following a recent decision by a federal appeals court.<\/p>\n

Read more Opponents urge Wake commissioners to block WakeMed merger with Atrium Health<\/a><\/p>\n

The lawsuit accuses the detention officers, along with Sheriff Charles Blackwood, of violating the constitutional rights of Maurice King, who died after being beaten in 2020 by other inmates in the Orange County Detention Center in Hillsborough.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn officer who hears an inmate moaning and groaning and thereby suspects that the inmate has just been violently assaulted has fair notice that deliberately deferring any response in order to avoid paperwork violates the inmate\u2019s constitutional rights,\u201d states a ruling released<\/u><\/a> last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

The ruling allows the case to move closer to trial or settlement on claims that the two guards were deliberately indifferent to King\u2019s medical needs and that Blackwood, as sheriff, allowed a risky lack of supervision at the jail.<\/p>\n

The case goes back to March 4, 2020.<\/a><\/p>\n

King, a 34-year-old man with a history of mental illness, had been convicted of federal drug charges and was awaiting sentencing at the Orange County Detention Center in Hillsborough.<\/p>\n

Around 6:38 p.m., King entered his cell on the second floor of his jail pod, followed by another inmate, who closed the door behind him. Two other inmates followed, according to surveillance footage showing an altercation at the door\u2019s threshold as they opened and closed the door. A fourth inmate, not counting King, then entered the cell.<\/p>\n

By 6:45 p.m., all of the inmates except for King had left the cell and shut the door, the ruling states.<\/p>\n

Two minutes later, detention officer William Berry Jr. did his required cell checks but didn\u2019t appear to look in any of the rooms, according to surveillance footage<\/a> and court filings.<\/p>\n

Berry later claimed he used his peripheral vision to look in King\u2019s cell window, according to a three-judge Court of Appeals ruling written by Judge Julius Richardson.<\/p>\n

Thirty minutes later, Officer Thomas Linster III did another cell check and also didn\u2019t appear to look into the cell, the appeals court\u2019s ruling states. Linster later claimed he did look and saw King and another person sitting on different bunks in King\u2019s cell. However, the cell only had one bunk and the surveillance video shows that everyone had left, the ruling states.<\/p>\n

Between 7:30 p.m. and 7:47 p.m., four inmates, not counting King, entered and exited King\u2019s cell. One adjusted a towel that partially covered the cell door window so it completely blocked the view inside.<\/p>\n

At 7:47 p.m. Linster did another round of checks, again passing King\u2019s cell without looking in but reporting he heard a \u201cconcerning noise,\u201d the opinion states.<\/p>\n

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Linster and Berry then listened to an intercom in King\u2019s cell. Berry later told investigators that he heard \u201ca moan or groan\u201d and that he heard someone talking to King.<\/p>\n

Berry then waited about 23 minutes before he checked on King again, later telling investigators that if a guard did an early check, it would require extra paperwork before going home, the ruling states.<\/p>\n

When the officers did check on King, they found him soaking wet, bruised and beaten, unable to speak and struggling to breathe, the Court of Appeals decision states.<\/p>\n

Just before 9 p.m., the officers brought King to the nurse, who called 911 within 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

At first, King said he was having an asthma attack, but in the ambulance, he said individuals \u201cstomped him in the head\u201d and \u201cchoked him out,\u201d the ruling states.<\/p>\n

King, who had a heart attack after the assault, died at Duke University Hospital at 10:22 p.m. His death was classified as a homicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attending physician and the local medical examiner agreed that King\u2019s injuries might not have been fatal if he had received treatment sooner,\u201d the appeals court decision states.<\/p>\n

In 2021, King\u2019s mother filed a lawsuit against Orange County,<\/a> Blackwood,<\/a> Linster, Berry, and seven other Sheriff\u2019s Office officials.<\/p>\n

After reviewing the evidence, a U.S. district court judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina dismissed the claims against Orange County and seven Sheriff\u2019s Office officials in 2025. Claims against Blackwood, Linster and Berry remained, which the officials unsuccessfully appealed.<\/p>\n

In the appeal, attorneys representing Blackwood and the officers argued that the officers didn\u2019t violate King\u2019s constitutional rights since there was no way for them to have known that he was suffering from a serious medical issue during the delayed response.<\/p>\n

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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 3:27 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A federal appeals court ruled claims accusing Orange County detention officers of violating Maurice King\u2019s constitutional rights may move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nDid Orange jailers delay help to avoid paperwork? 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