Claims dismissed in Muskogee County Jail inmate’s death

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) – A judge has dismissed all federal claims accusing authorities of culpability in the 2016 death of an Oklahoma man detained at the Muskogee County Jail.

The Muskogee Phoenix reports that U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White granted a motion for summary judgment for County Sheriff Rob Frazier and two other jail employees last week in separate orders. He said there was no constitutional violation in Marvin A. Rowell’s death.

The lawsuit alleges jailers forcibly moved Rowell into a restraint chair, causing him to fall and strike his head on a concrete floor. Lawyers representing Rowell’s estate said he was deprived of his federal civil rights.

Federal claims against the Muskogee County Board of Commissioners were also dismissed.

White remanded a pending state claim against the board back to state court.