Officers to face no charges in jail death

Franklin County’s prosecutor will not pursue criminal charges against three law enforcement officers involved in the death of a jail inmate in May.

David Gibbons wrote in a letter Wednesday to Arkansas State Police investigator Phillip Pierce he didn’t believe there was enough evidence to convince a jury Franklin County Sheriff’s Office jailer Nicholas James and Ozark police officers Nathan Griffith and Sgt. Joseph Griffith caused the May 11 death of Cody Jack Franklin.

Dr. Stephen Erickson with the state medical examiner’s office concluded Franklin, 20, died from acidosis brought on by “a perfect storm” of factors: methamphetamine intoxication, exertion and struggle over a long period of time, restraint and multiple Taser shocks.

“Each one of these factors played a role in causing the death of Cody Franklin,” Gibbons wrote. Gibbons gave a synopsis of the facts from Pierce’s investigation and Erickson’s autopsy of Franklin.

Franklin was arrested on the afternoon of May 10 after he was seen acting erratically. A resident reported Franklin hid in a ditch for 30 minutes to an hour and then stood in the middle of the highway with a stick over his head. Franklin, sweating profusely, also made inconsistent statements to a sheriff’s deputy.

The deputy took Franklin into custody and took him to the county jail where he was booked in and placed in a cell with other inmates.

Around midnight, Franklin got into fights with at least three inmates. During the fights, the inmates tried to hold Franklin down, according to reports. James called for assistance to move Franklin into the drunk tank and Nathan Griffith arrived to help. Franklin started fighting with the two officers and Griffith shocked Franklin with his Taser until the two were able to handcuff him, according to reports. Gibbons noted Franklin was shocked with the Taser five times for a total of 18 seconds over two minutes.