City of Jacksonville responds to schizophrenic inmate's son's wrongful death lawsuit

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville filed a response on Thursday to a wrongful death lawsuit involving schizophrenic Duval County inmate Paul Testa.

Action News Jax reported in December that Testa became unresponsive after corrections officers used a Taser on him and strapped him into a restraint chair.

The victim's family took him off life support days later.

The medical examiner listed his cause of death as excited delirium syndrome.

An Action News Jax investigation in September revealed that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office used those controversial restraint chairs in half of all uses of force inside the jail.

In the response filed in federal court on Thursday, the city and the officers involved denied responsibility for Testa’s death and claim that Testa committed battery on a law enforcement officer.

The attorney representing Paul Testa’s son Christian Testa,Ted Pina, called the accusation “low.”

Previous coverage:

• Family suing JSO over jail death adds 16 officers to lawsuit

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