Family weighs lawsuit after veteran’s death in Macon County jail

John Reed was a father and military veteran who died Oct. 22 in a holding cell at the Macon County Sheriffs Office. Daniel Pollard III of Tuskegee, was charged with his murder and had been sentenced for attempted murder in 2022. He received a 20-year split sentence, with five years to serve with the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Reed was arrested while driving under the influence and was held on a bond less than $300. He was brutally beaten while his wife and mother waited outside for his bail to be processed.

Reed’s wife, Regene Reed, says authorities have yet to provide any explanation for why her husband wasn’t placed in protective custody or under medical supervision, why he was left in such a perilous situation even though she and his mother were there to post his bond or why none of the jail staff, who should have been on duty, intervened to prevent the beating.

“No one deserves this nightmare,” Reed says. “We were there. I had checked in with the jail twice in person to see what the holdup was. But while they dragged their feet, my husband was being beaten to death. Now they can’t even give us a straight answer?”

The family’s attorneys, nationally renowned civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers and noted civil litigator Chuck James of the Serious Injury Law Group, say the jail’s failures not only demonstrate obvious neglect, but represent a clear danger for others in Macon County.

“This was a 72-year-old man who walked with a cane, used a motorized wheelchair and was on 24-hour oxygen due to chronic COPD. He couldn’t run away, much less defend himself,” Sellers said. “But that didn’t stop the MCSO from putting him in a population where a violent felon sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder and other violent crimes could beat him to death.”

“Daniel Pollard III may have killed John Reed but the Macon County Sheriff’s Office has blood on their hands.”

“John Reed was a God-fearing man, a disabled veteran who loved his family and served his nation honorably,” said James. “If a simple DUI arrest is enough to get a good man like that brutally murdered, then none of us are safe.”

The attorneys state that they, along with Reed’s family, are currently evaluating their legal options, including the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and other parties responsible.