The family of Stanley Wilson Jr. claims in a new lawsuit that there is evidence that the former Detroit Lions cornerback may have been killed by excessive force.
The lawsuit comes more than a month after Wilson collapsed and died while being transferred from a Los Angeles jail to a psychiatric hospital.
Photos of Wilson’s body show “recent injuries to the forehead, which appear to have been caused by a shoe”People quoted family lawyer John Carpenter as saying at a press conference on Tuesday.
Images of the athlete’s wrists showed he may have also been handcuffed when he collapsed at Twin Towers Correctional Center on February 1, the lawyer said.
Wilson had been held at the correctional facility since an arrest in August 2022 for allegedly breaking into the $30 million Hollywood Hills mansion for the second time and causing over $5,000 in damageaccording to TMZ.
Carpenter claims that the event may have been the result of Wilson suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease that has been discovered in the bodies of many retired NFL players.
“Because of his mental illness, the county found that he couldn’t stand trial, couldn’t provide legal assistance, so they committed him” to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Carpenter said.
The family said Wilson’s mood and personality had recently changed, another possible sign of CTE.
The former Stanford University football star reportedly battled drug abuse since his playing days and had a history of breaking and entering.
His family is reportedly seeking $45 million in damages.
