Footage released from arrest that led to Terence Caffey in-custody death

The family of Terence Caffey, an Arkansas man who died in police custody, has been working for the body camera and surveillance video to be made public— it was released on Friday, September 23.

Caffey died at a hospital in December 2021 after he went into "medical distress" during an attempted arrest by an off-duty deputy for an alleged fight with a Movie Tavern employee.

The video footage showed an altercation involving Caffey and another person in the hallway, as well as his arrest.

Theater employees attempted to break up the fight but were unable to.

That's when the off-duty deputy arrived to help stop the fight. He tried to detain Caffey, who ran down the hallway in an attempt to escape.

The deputy then caught up with him, pushed him against the wall, and then onto the ground— where Caffey was held down for several minutes.

While the deputy was shown in uniform, he was off-duty at the time and was working security at the Movie Tavern.

After Caffey was taken outside, the video showed officers holding him down again before being placed in the car.

He was later assessed by fire rescue, who realized that Caffey was no longer breathing.

The Pulaski County prosecutor, Larry Jegley, will not be filing charges against law enforcement involved in the 2021 in-custody death of Terence Caffey.

In March, attorneys who represented the family announced that Caffey's autopsy showed the cause of death was ruled a homicide.

A letter from the prosecutor's office announced on Friday that no charges would be filed and stated that "at no time did any officer use more than physical force to restrain Mr. Caffey than which is authorized by law."

The letter went on to say that Caffey died of a sickle cell trait crisis during exertion.

The letter also stated that "it is the finding of this office that the treatment rendered to Mr. Caffey in light of their failure to correctly diagnose his medical crisis does not rise to the level of criminal negligence."