MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A Memphis family is looking for answers after a man died in custody and now the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is joining in the search.
Derrick Smalls was arrested at the Memphis International Airport on May 28. Police said Smalls was trying to break into a car at the airport when he was taken into custody. Lacking identification, he was booked into the jail at 201 Poplar under the name “Sam Doe.” A week later, his wife got a call.
“A TBI investigator called me on June 4 and was like ‘Do you know Derrick Smalls?’ and I’m like ‘Yes sir. That’s my husband,'” Shequita Smalls told FOX13.
Shequita Smalls was shocked to learn that her husband had been arrested. She said Derrick Smalls was a family man with four children and had never been in trouble with the law.
“Derrick has never been in any legal trouble. A ticket at the most, but he’s never been in jail,” Shequita Smalls told FOX13.
Two days after Derrick Smalls was booked into the Shelby County Jail, he was set to be released with his charges dropped due to a defective warrant, but he became combative with guards on the night of May 30 and then become unresponsive, according to medical records.