SAN JOSE, Calif. (CN) — On July 29, 2020, Frederick Inea Regal, a 40-year-old inmate in the Santa Clara County jail system, was found by officers in his cell, hanging by his own bedsheets, less than 27 hours after being admitted to the jail.
At a jury trial Tuesday, the family of the former inmate used bodycam footage, graphic images and props to argue his suicide in county custody was preventable. The nine-person jury saw footage of officers discovering him in his cell, as well as photos ranging from family moments to images of his bruised neck in the hospital, even including video of the moment the inmate was discovered in his cell post-suicide.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the next piece of evidence you’re going to see is going to be hard to watch,” Todd Emanuel of Emanuel Law Group, who represented Regal’s family, told the jury directly before playing the video for the jury…