Family Speaks Out After Son's In-Custody Death

Cynthia and James Williams are the mother and stepfather of the Cleveland County inmate who died while in custody.

The inmate was 22-year-old Austin Vance of Norman. He was arrested on York Drive after reports of him being intoxicated.

“I observed that Vance was sweating heavily and he was also extremely animated. Vance was twitching and moving his arms and legs about at a very rapid pace,” a report by the Norman Police Department stated.

The Norman police officer took him to a Norman Regional emergency room where he was deemed fit to go to jail.

From there, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said he was put in a detoxification cell. He started to harm himself, so they moved him to a difference cell with a restraint chair.

That’s when Vance was found unresponsive and taken to Norman Regional Hospital. He died a short time afterward at the hospital.

Cynthia and James say everything they know about their son’s arrest and death are through what they heard on the news Tuesday.

“Nothing is going to make it better, but I would like to know what happened,” said his mother.

They want answers and to see the video from the jail explaining what happened to Austin Vance.

The two are waiting for the medical examiner to complete the autopsy.

If it is drugs, they have a message for other families.

“It ain’t worth it. You just think you’re having fun. You’re not. You’re killing yourself,” they said.