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Kenyan man died by suicide after he was ignored by DFW Airport jailers, federal lawsuit says

Waweru Mwaura was clearly suicidal before he was left alone in a jail cell at DFW Airport, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Waweru Mwaura was planning to fly home to Kenya when he was arrested at DFW Airport on an outstanding warrant. Within hours he was dead. 

Authorities say Mwaura hanged himself in his jail cell, but his family claims jailers didn't do enough to protect him. 

“We were looking forward to him coming back only to get him back in a coffin,” said his sister, Wakanyi Mwaura, in an interview via Skype from Kenya.

The Mwaura family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday, claiming officials failed to notice obvious signs of distress and violated policy for how often inmates should be checked on.

The family has requested a jury trial in the case. Airport officials declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing the pending litigation.

Mwaura was found hanging by his jeans on Nov. 30, 2018. His death was investigated by the Texas Rangers and ruled a suicide by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner. 

He had been taken into custody earlier that day on an outstanding driving while intoxicated warrant.

“If they had checked on him this would have never have happened,” Wakanyi Mwaura said.

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Credit: Courtesy photo
Waweru Mwaura was found hanging by his jeans on November 30, 2018. His family said he should've been checked on more frequently by jail staff.

He told police that “he is not coming back and it would be a waste of money to lock him up” and that “he wants to go home, that he will get there one way or another,” according to airport police records.

Mwaura's statements should've alerted authorities to closely watch the man, said attorney Justin Moore, who is representing the family. 

“That is another indicator of someone who is under great distress and that should have been communicated to the jail staff,” Moore said.

Body camera footage showed a jail sergeant asking Mwaura if he’s suicidal, if he has ever attempted suicide and if he’s under the care of a mental health professional or taking any medications, according to the jail report. 

Mwuara shakes his head "no" to the last question but doesn't answer whether he's suicidal or has attempted suicide. 

“There were no indications of suicidal behavior observed by jail staff,” police records state.

Moore said Mwaura’s failure to clearly answer those questions should have been a red flag.

Mwaura was booked into the airport jail shortly before noon. He made four phone calls between 12:08 and 3:23 p.m. There are audio recordings of the calls and what was going on inside the cell.

But, there is no camera inside the jail cell. There was also no way for the jailer to see what was going on in the cell from her vantage point without physically walking by, the DFW Airport police report says. 

On the first phone call, Mwaura called his former mother-in-law to tell her he was in jail. He hung up on the second call before anyone answered. On the third call, he told his former mother-in-law to ask someone to retrieve his belongings from the jail, according to the report.

On the final call, he is “clearly agitated” talking to his ex-girlfriend, police records state.  

Mwaura “states to the female that he is definitely not OK. He tells her that he is going to be in jail for a long time.”

At 3:28 p.m., a “faint whispering” can be heard, according to the report. Six and half minutes later, there are “coughing or gurgling” noises followed by “several thumping or knocking noises” that last about 10 seconds, the jail report says.

By policy, jailers are required to check on prisoners at least once an hour, or every 30 minutes if the prisoner has been deemed a suicide risk, according to the DFW Airport police report. 

Surveillance video showed the jailer checked on Mwaura at 2:51 p.m. She did not return again until 3:54 p.m.

The jailer found Mwaura hanging from his jeans in his cell. He left no suicide note, the report says. 

“Nobody should be going into that airport alive and coming out dead,” Moore said. 

Mwaura was the youngest of five siblings. He had lived in the United States for about two decades. His family learned he died on the day he was to have arrived in Kenya.

Credit: Courtesy photo
Waweru Mwaura, center, as a child with his parents.

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