A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office supervisor recommended that several officers should receive an award after jail staff left a man in a mental health crisis handcuffed, face down, and dying in a cell.
ABC15 also discovered a Phoenix police officer involved in the death ended up leaving the force while under investigation for child abuse and was later arrested for human smuggling.
DEAD WRONG: ABC15 investigates Akeem Terrell’s in-custody death
The revelations add new layers to the disturbing death of Akeem Terrell, who died on Jan. 1, 2021. A leading jail expert said the death highlighted a stunning constellation of failures by MCSO and Phoenix, who collectively paid out a $4.8-million settlement.
RECOMMENDED FOR AWARD
After the death, a supervisor believed some officers deserved the “Medical Aide Award,” according to redacted employee performance records obtained by ABC15.
“The officers performed in the finest tradition of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office,” wrote a supervisor in an employee’s annual appraisal. “Their professionalism, dedication to duty and compassion to save a human life was displayed to the fullest.”
The supervisor wrote the officers “brought honor to themselves and the uniform of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.”
Records show the award was not submitted within the correct timeframe “due to the sensitivity” of the case, and an MCSO spokesperson confirmed no employees ended up receiving the recommended honor.
Most of the officers recommended for the award were involved in the medical response and not the initial force that left Terrell unconscious on the jail floor.
For three minutes, a handful of MCSO and Phoenix officers knelt on top of Terrell, whose head and neck were pushed up against the wall, to switch his handcuffs, jail video shows.
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After the cuffs were switched, the officers got up and backed out of the room.
Terrell was clearly unresponsive and motionless when the officers left, according to jail surveillance video. Several times officers peered into the cell through a window, but no one would go in to check on him for more than five minutes.
Despite the large settlement, no Phoenix or MCSO officers were disciplined for what happened.
PHOENIX OFFICER’S LEGAL TROUBLE
One of the key Phoenix officers involved in Terrell’s case was Danny Rubio.
A year after the death, he left Phoenix police while under investigation for child abuse and theft, according to court records and state police board documents.
In September 2024, Rubio was arrested by Border Patrol agents on human smuggling charges and he quickly pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
Rubio spent several weeks in federal prison and has already been released, records show.
He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
