A Black man found dead at an abandoned house in Colbert County last month had earlier this year filed a federal lawsuit against Sheffield police officers alleging police brutality.
Dennoriss Richardson, 39, of Sheffield, was found hanging by a rope on Sept. 28, said civil rights attorney Roderick Van Daniel, who represented Richardson in the federal lawsuit.
Van Daniel has called for a federal investigation of what he says is a suspicious death.
U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona said she was not familiar with the case. “We can’t deny or confirm the existence of any investigation,” said FBI Public Affairs Specialist Toni Herrera-Bast.
Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine said his office has investigated and ruled the death a suicide.
“We received a call of a suspicious vehicle at a residence on Highway 72, on the west side of Colbert County,” Balentine said. “When our deputies go down to investigate the suspicious vehicle, they located Mr. Richardson. He was hanging from a beam on the carport.”
Richardson’s wife, Leigh Ann Richardson, said she is absolutely convinced it was not a suicide.
“I need answers,” she said. “This was made to look like a suicide. It’s not a suicide.”
She said that Richardson had been repeatedly arrested, beaten, and harassed by Sheffield police officers who said they would drop charges against him if he would drop the federal lawsuit.
He repeatedly refused, she said.
‘They harassed him his whole life’
Richardson filed a lawsuit Feb. 26 against several Sheffield police officers, including former Sheffield Police Lt. Max Dotson.
Dotson was fired for a separate incident after he was found guilty of a December 2022 assault against another Black man while off duty.
Dotson, four other officers, and Police Chief Ricky Terry were named in the lawsuit as having taken part in abusive behavior while Richardson was detained in the Sheffield City Jail from Nov. 30 until Dec. 1, 2022.
“Any abuse of inmates is contrary to our policy,” Sheffield Mayor Steve Stanley said. “I have preached repeatedly that everyone we encounter, whether they’ve committed a crime or not, deserves respect and humane treatment. I’m hoping that that philosophy and standard is embraced by all of our employees.”
Efforts to reach Chief Terry and attorneys representing the city and the officers were not immediately successful.
AL.com also reached out to attorneys for Dotson for comment but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
Stanley said he hopes other officers abide by expected standards.
“I’m always concerned that the potential exists for that to occur,” Stanley said of police violence against people in jail. “It’s unacceptable and it’s contrary to the principles and the policies that the city of Sheffield has.”
The mayor said he knew Richardson personally.
“I’m sorry to hear of his death,” Stanley said. “I’ve had a couple of meetings with Dennoriss in the past and they’ve always been civil and congenial. I certainly didn’t harbor any ill will against him.”
Attorneys for defendants in the federal lawsuit filed a notice with the court on Sept. 30 that Richardson had died. On Sept. 19, they had requested a stay of discovery in the case, which was granted.
“The circumstances would have probably been discovered to be not as prejudicial to the city as the charges suggest,” Stanley said. “It was a complicated situation as I understand it. There was an altercation that may have been initiated by the inmate.”
Mrs. Richardson, who married Richardson in 2012, said that Sheffield police have been harassing Richardson since he was a 5-year-old child. “They harassed him his whole life,” she said.
Richardson was a father of five children and coached youth baseball and football for the past 14 years, she said.
“There were charges brought on him about animal cruelty,” she said.
“He bred and sold puppies. They tried to label him as a dog fighter. He was not a dog fighter, he was a dog breeder. He took pride in his animals. He took them to the vet. He fed them every day. He made sure they were on the correct chain. He went by the book.”
In the lawsuit, Richardson alleged that Dotson and other officers beat him, strapped him in a restraint chair for hours while telling him, “Nobody can help you.” Richardson also alleged police tased him, and sprayed him with mace in his cell.
The lawsuit says that Richardson was charged with second-degree assault against Lt. Dotson.
On Jan. 9, 2024, Richardson was back in the city jail, and when he tried to call 911 for medical assistance, he said officers physically took the phone and threw him down in his cell. He was charged with making a false emergency report, the lawsuit said.
Mrs. Richardson said he had been arrested and on jailed on drug charges, and she says officers offered to let him go if he dropped the federal lawsuit.
“It was a bribe to make him drop the lawsuit and he never would,” she said.
Richardson was out on bond at the time of his death, she said.
‘He was just down and out’
“He was incarcerated on a drug charge. He was allowed to get out of jail, supposedly to travel out of state to be with a relative,” Balentine said.
“Right after the release, he told his probation officer that he was not going to comply with the restrictions of the release, so a warrant was issued for his arrest.”
Mrs. Richardson said that Richardson had put his uncle in Washington State down as his guardian for probation purposes but was told he had to be working and be close to his guardian.
He would have to move to Washington, away from his children, Mrs. Richardson said.
So, he told her he decided to turn himself in and serve his time, she said.
She last heard from him on Wednesday, Sept. 25, and on Sept. 26 reported him missing with Sheffield police.
She said Sheffield police, in the missing person report and on other documents, referred to Richardson as a white male, although they knew he was a Black male.
“We spoke to family members that said the last time they had spoken to Mr. Richardson, he had been depressed, worried about his future as far as the charges he was looking at. He was just down and out. He was giving some of his property away. It appeared to be an apparent suicide,” Balentine said.
“The D.A.’s office ordered an autopsy. The body was sent to the Department of Forensic Science in Huntsville. The cause of death was suicide.”
Mrs. Richardson said that on Sept. 25, Richardson gave some of his jewelry to his son to keep, not because he expected to die, but because he expected to return to prison and finish serving his time.
He had previously served 18 months in prison on a drug charge more than a decade ago and was not afraid of returning to prison.
“He was not depressed,” Mrs. Richardson said.
‘My son was joyful’
Sheriff Balentine said the investigation pointed to Richardson being depressed about his legal situation.
“We’ve spoken with the mother at length,” Balentine said. “She seemed to think that Mr. Richardson was depressed because his estranged wife had been giving him some problems. They had been separated. There were a lot of things going on in Mr. Richardson’s life.”
Leigh Anne Richardson said she and her husband were estranged, but they remained on good terms and he often spent time with his children.
Richardson’s mother, Bonita Richardson, denies that she told the sheriff’s investigators that her son was depressed. “That ain’t what I said,” Bonita Richardson said.
“My son was joyful,” she said. “He didn’t have any mental issues. He would never kill himself. He would not hurt himself.”
She said he did fear for his life, however, because of his lawsuit against Sheffield police officers. “He would not have drove himself way out there, almost to Mississippi,” she said.
Mrs. Richardson said the body was found between Barton and Cherokee, Alabama, less than 15 miles from the Mississippi line, in an area that Richardson had no affiliation with. “He was scared of places like that,” she said.
Balentine said he knew of no connections between Richardson and the abandoned house where he was found dead.
“That was one of our questions: Why here?” he said. “But no one, not even the family, and they came to the scene, we spoke to a lot of the family there and we can’t find any connection to the property.”
Balentine said he was not previously aware of the federal lawsuit against members of the Sheffield Police Department.
“We weren’t aware of any of that,” he said. “It’s not our department, so we wouldn’t be aware of it.”
But the family brought it to his attention, he said.
“I know the family’s expressed some concern about it,” Balentine said.
“Our agency’s not involved in that. I think that may be one of the municipalities in the county. I didn’t even know there was a lawsuit until the family showed there may be some concerns about that. After the fact, the family expressed those concerns to us, and that’s why we did a detailed investigation, to make sure we were transparent, and that’s how we handle all cases.”
The investigation was thorough, he said.
“We have no interest in the lawsuit,” Balentine said. “We just received a phone call of someone for a suspicious vehicle at an abandoned home, and upon our arrival, and conducting our investigation, located Mr. Richardson.”
‘I think it’s a homicide’
Mrs. Richardson said she paid for a private autopsy, but it could take months to get results.
“I know the family requested a secondary autopsy, whether or not that was done, you have to confirm that with the family,” Balentine said.
Balentine said he welcomes a federal investigation, if any federal agency deems it warranted.
“As far as our investigation goes, we want to be transparent,” he said. “We’ve even placed a call in to the U.S. attorney general’s office to see if they could maybe take a look at it also. It’s just a request. Because there is some concern as far as the family goes. We don’t mind them coming in and taking a look at the case.”
Balentine, who has worked in law enforcement for 30 years, said suicides are emotional for relatives of the person who died.
“Anytime that there’s a death, it’s tragic, and it’s hard for a family member or family in general to process how someone they’ve known and they care about, how could they do something like this. There’s obvious indication that Mr. Richardson had been depressed. He had talked to friends and family about that. He was giving some of his property away.
“All indications in our investigation leads right back to suicide. But, with that being said, whenever the family expresses those concerns, we want to be transparent. But I’m confident that what our investigation has found is going to be accurate.
“When you look at the level of what this gentleman had concerns about, even the probation officer said he plainly told him, ‘I’m not coming back and I’m not going to adhere to the terms of my release.’ So, who knows what a person thinks about when they’re under that much pressure.”
Richardson’s mother said he had concerns, but he wasn’t worried about going back to prison.
“He really was in fear of his life,” she said. “I think it’s a homicide.”
Efforts to reach Colbert County Coroner Justin Gasque were unsuccessful.
As far as the sheriff is concerned, the outcome of the case is clear.
“We did a full investigation,” Balentine said. “I’m confident on our end. We want to be transparent. Everything we’ve done in our investigation, leads to a suicide.”