Grand jurors on Wednesday considered whether a detention officer who attempted to subdue 72-year-old Norman Ford Hicks Sr. should face charges. Hicks died Jan. 22 of complications from a heart attack after suffering blunt head trauma and a broken nose.
An autopsy determined the death was a homicide.
An attorney with the Harris County Deputies Organization says Hicks struck a guard, during a disturbance, after the inmate allegedly threw a human waste-soiled shirt on the jailer.
Relatives of the inmate say justice has not been done over the death.
Hicks was jailed for allegedly violating probation related to aggravated assault on a family member.