A Walker County man, Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, died on January 26th while in police custody.

His mother is now filing a federal lawsuit against Sheriff Nick Smith of the Walker County Police Department and various officials within the jail where her son died.

The lawsuit states “On the night of January 25 to January 26,2023, Anthony Don Mitchell (“Tony”) froze to death while incarcerated at the Walker County Jail.”

It alleges that Mitchell was “likely…placed in a restraint chair in the jail kitchen’s walk-in freezer or similar frigid environment and left there for hours.” The complaint said that at least five hours went by from the time Mitchell was removed from the freezer to the time that he was sent to the hospital. His body temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of his transport.

A lawyer representing the mother believes it hasn’t been a very transparent process in finding out details about the event.

“If the Sheriff does not have anything to hide, then all the videos of Mr. Anthony Mitchell should be preserved and released to the public.”

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.