Date of Offense
Offense(s)
Statement
Lacey Robinette Handjis (Age 37), a non-criminal civil commitment detainee placed in a padded isolation cell awaiting a state psychiatric bed.
As a shift Sergeant, Tyms was tasked with the direct operations of the jail floor, ensuring that corrections officers strictly adhered to the facility's required intervals for visual welfare checks on high-risk, isolated detainees.
Handjis was left unmonitored and was discovered unresponsive and deceased within 24 hours of booking. Substantive investigative reports and federal court pleadings indicate that shift leadership failed to ensure basic, mandatory medical monitoring or intervention despite the highly visible, acute vulnerability of the civil detainee.
As a sergeant on the floor, Tyms allegedly failed to act upon or recognize the severe psychological and medical distress of a detainee placed under his custody. His failure to coordinate timely medical intervention or transfer Handjis to a certified clinical space represents a severe breach of the standard of care. In investigative contexts concerning custodial deaths, the accuracy of logbooks and the verified timing of cell checks are paramount. This entry notes a critical breakdown in command oversight regarding the verification of mandatory welfare checks performed by subordinate roster guards on duty under Tyms’ watch. Sgt. Tyms was explicitly named as an individual defendant in the federal civil rights lawsuit Handjis et al v. Adams County, Mississippi et al (Southern District of Mississippi), asserting individual liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for constitutional violations regarding conditions of confinement and deliberate indifference. Handjis et al. v. Adams County, Mississippi et al. (Case No. 5:25-cv-00005-KS-BWR)
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