TEXAS RANGERS INVESTIGATING DEATH AT WASHINGTON COUNTY JAIL
FAMILY BELIEVES DEATH DUE TO NEGLIGENCE
The Texas Rangers are currently investigating a death at the Washington County Jail.
Sheriff Otto Hanak reports that they are investigating the death of 33-year-old Bryan O’Neal Dixon of Brenham. Dixon had been court ordered to jail on Thursday, March 11, 2021 for violating terms of his probation.
According to Hanak, Dixon was found to be unresponsive this (Tuesday) morning at approximately 6:15 a.m. during routine cell checks.
Update @ 5:30 p.m.: The family of Dixon believes his death to be the result of negligence. Tyrika Scyrus, Dixon’s sister, said he was diagnosed as schizophrenic and bipolar. According to Scyrus, Dixon repeatedly told jail staff he was not feeling well. She alleges officers did not call paramedics to check on him and instead put him in a padded cell, returning later to find his body in the cell.
Scyrus believes Dixon would not refuse medical help, and calls this “murder from neglect.” She further stated, “I think they killed my brother.”
Hanak said in a statement to KWHI that Dixon was evaluated and treated by several health officials since entering the jail on March 11th, including checks by EMS, the jail doctor, and jail medical assistants. He also said Dixon was moved to a padded cell “for his own protection” and that he was checked on a regular basis. He said investigation by the Texas Rangers is ongoing at this time, and that no further comments would be made on the matter.
Dixon’s mother, Tracie Dixon, says there are a lot of unanswered questions on what happened and how it happened. She says she was not notified of Dixon’s death before officials arrived at the jail to pick up his body, and questions what events led to him being put in a padded cell in the first place.
Dixon’s family says his body has been taken to Austin for an autopsy.
I personally have spent quite some time in Washington County jail and everything that the family is saying is completely true. I was sick in there last year and it seemed almost impossible to get and decent medical attention. The truth of the matter is when in Washington County you are unfortunately look at as if you are a number and a piece of property instead of a human being. They say you are innocent until proven guilty but you are not treated as if you are innocent.
The same thing happened to my sister 4 years ago and they had no answers for me either
We have made progress with both the City Police of Brenham and Washington County Sheriff in the handling of the mentally ill. Hats off to Sheriff Otto in his progress and seeming willingness to listen to learn. Unfortunately, both the City and Sheriff’s Office still has much room for improvement. More training is still needed and an aggressive push to change the daily behavior of the police is still needed.
We need more and better mental health courts in the State, better laws, and better treatment options.
This is a major problem throughout the United States, probably the biggest issue in law enforcement but it is largely ignored.
This is not the time to hand out accolades but condolences to the family. Too many times the ACTUAL incident will get overshadowed by things like the hats off for improvement of a system. This is why the world is where it is. But knowingly or unwillingly you have acknowledged what we continue to fight for. Injustice…
Well said!
These people always talking about how much of a criminal people are, they’re always criticizing others. But never address how corrupt this town is. The legal system in this town, the way things are handled and not to mention how much these people abuse their authority. How they abuse their authority in the county jail just because they feel like they can. This is not okay and needs to be addressed. Myself and many others have experience this personally. This needs to be fixed and this man family needs justice.