Tammy Reed, center, is suing the Missouri Department of Corrections for wrongful death of her son, Brandon Pace, at Tipton Correctional Center. In January, she was joined by Tina Burger, left, and her daughter, Bethany Pace, at a memorial service for the 382 Missourians who died in department custody in 2021, 2022 and 2023 (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent).
Missouri corrections officers drenched an inmate with pepper spray and ignored his pleas for help for four hours, responding only when his screaming stopped as he died in the Tipton Correctional Center, a federal lawsuit filed this month alleges.
The events that led to Brandon Pace’s death on April 7, 2023, began when correctional officers intervened in an altercation between Pace and another inmate, according to the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Both men were taken into administrative segregation in restraints.