Grand jury doesn’t indict officers in man’s death at Dallas hospital, family attorney says

A Dallas County grand jury found Wednesday that no officer or officers will face charges in the death of a 41-year-old man who died last year in the custody of police at a Dallas hospital.

Kenneth Knotts died in police custody at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas on Nov. 29, 2022.

The Dallas County medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide in September, saying he died of sudden cardiac arrest after law enforcement restrained him in a “semi-prone position.” It’s not clear how many officers went before the grand jury related to Knotts’ death or what charges were considered.

Geoff Henley, the attorney for Knotts’ family, confirmed the ruling Wednesday afternoon.

“We don’t know how many officers, the identity or identities, any genders or the races, for that matter,” Henley told The Dallas Morning News.

Dallas police investigated the case and referred it to a grand jury in February, according to a spokesperson.

An email and phone call to the hospital’s Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs after 6 p.m. Wednesday did not immediately draw a response.

For months, The News has tried to piece together what happened the day Knotts died. UT Southwestern declined to release details. The News filed record requests in September for more information, including for body-camera footage.

UT Southwestern and Dallas police have not answered numerous questions about the names of the officers involved, what de-escalation techniques were used in the treatment room, how police physically restrained Knotts and at what point he became unconscious. Jocelyn Knotts, Kenneth’s mother, said she was unaware her son’s death had been ruled a homicide until a reporter told her.

Hutchins police brought Knotts to the hospital about 7:25 a.m. Nov. 29. At about 11:43 a.m., a UT Southwestern report said, he fled a treatment room in the hospital, and officers handcuffed him five minutes later after finding him outside a nearby medical facility.

According to the report, they tried to place him in the back of a police vehicle, and police wrote he was “resisting by stiffening his body and using his legs to brace himself against the vehicle and going inside.” By 12:07 p.m., he was back in his treatment room and nearly 11 minutes later, medical staff saw his condition deteriorate and began life-saving procedures.

He was declared dead at 1:02 p.m. Knotts wasn’t suspected of criminal wrongdoing the day he died, and he didn’t try to assault officers, according to the report by UT Southwestern police to the attorney general.

Knotts’ family filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas system in federal court for excessive and deadly force. In the complaint, the family alleges that the police officers willfully and maliciously used force to restrain Knotts “despite having no legitimate reason for doing so.” It added that his autopsy showed a symptom of asphyxia, or lack of oxygen.

The lawsuit says authorities are well aware of the hazards of asphyxia when police use the prone restraint, or when someone is placed face-down. At a news conference in October announcing the suit, Jocelyn Knotts, said her son has four children of his own.

“I’m very upset. I’m angry, frustrated,” she said at the time. “I don’t know nothing.”

His family is seeking a trial by jury and unspecified damages. The civil lawsuit will move forward.

Dallas Morning News public safety editor Jen Emily contributed to this report.