Cleveland County commissioners will vote Sept. 8 on a $20 million settlement with the husband of Shannon Hanchett, a Norman bakery owner who died in the Cleveland County Detention Center in 2022.

The payout would resolve a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by Daniel Hanchett against the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office. If approved, $2 million would come from the county's liability insurer, The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company. The remaining $18 million would be paid by the county through three annual sinking fund tax levies beginning in October 2027, according to the settlement agreement.

Commissioners initially approved the settlement sum Aug. 10, after the parties reached a tentative agreement Aug. 4. Tuesday's vote is to adopt a formal resolution, which the agreement requires by Sept. 14.

Each installment carries a 3.89% annual interest rate, set at the federal rate in effect Aug. 10, according to the county's draft resolution. The resolution states commissioners will "explore additional methods of funding the sinking fund to minimize tax levies."

Chairman Rusty Grissom, Vice Chairman Rod Cleveland and Member Jacob McHughes are scheduled to consider the resolution at 1 p.m. Tuesday. The agreement states the settlement is not an admission of liability or guilt by Cleveland County or the sheriff's office.

How Hanchett died

Shannon Hanchett, 38, was known in Norman as the Cookie Queen for the downtown bakery she ran. A Norman police officer arrested her Nov. 26, 2022, at an AT&T store on a complaint of misdemeanor obstruction and false reporting. The arresting officer noted Hanchett was exhibiting signs of mental illness but took her to the detention center, the OU Daily reported.

Her family chose not to post her $1,000 bond because they feared she might be a danger to herself or others, according to a Marshall Project and Frontier investigation that the OU Daily cited.

Jail staff found Hanchett unresponsive just after midnight Dec. 8, 2022. She was less than eight hours from a court-ordered mental health evaluation. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A state medical examiner ruled the cause of death as heart failure, with psychosis and severe dehydration as significant contributing factors.

Lawsuit and remaining claims

Daniel Hanchett filed the federal lawsuit in January 2024. A 73-page amended complaint alleges unconstitutional living conditions and deliberate indifference, and references closed-circuit video footage shielded from the public under a federal protective order, according to the OU Daily.

Attorney Daniel Smolen, who represents the Hanchett estate, told the OU Daily that "she was treated in a truly inhumane way" and that the video footage "really shows how preventable her death was."

The settlement does not release claims against the remaining defendants: Turn Key Health Clinics, also known as TK Health, and five individual medical staff members named in the suit.

Leadership turnover at the sheriff's office

Former Sheriff Chris Amason, who held office when Hanchett died, resigned in April after pleading no contest to one felony count of embezzlement. Sheriff Darrell Weaver took over in July.

In a July 28 interview with the OU Daily, Weaver acknowledged past deaths at the detention center. "We're going to do everything we can to keep everyone in that facility safe," he said.

Claims against TK Health and five medical staff members remain pending in federal court. No per-household tax impact estimate has been released.