Roland Nadeau was, in the words of his attorney, Rebecca Webber, in a revolving door at the Travis County Jail. A former chiropractor now in his mid-60s, Nadeau did many short stints at the jail during two decades of living on the streets, coping with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
“He was always arrested for some nothing thing, causing trouble but not harming anyone,” Webber said. “And he gets dumped on the police, and they’re the ones that have to deal with it.”
Nadeau would also get dumped on the local hospitals, like he was in the spring of 2021, after a fellow homeless person hit him in the knee with a hammer. Records obtained by Webber show that Nadeau spent a week in a hospital in Smithville that May, being treated for a staph infection in the knee. Despite no improvement to the pain and swelling, he checked himself out. He was back at the Travis County Jail by that summer. Webber’s records demonstrate that jail officials examined his knee and wrote that Nadeau had a MRSA infection – a type of infection that is resistant to antibiotics. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office did not comment on this pending litigation.
Nadeau was released, only to be arrested again on Jan. 25, 2022, per the lawsuit. In a manic state, believing he was the deceased actor Richard Anderson, he was placed in the jail’s mental health unit. Webber’s records show that jail staff examined Nadeau’s knee and documented the injury on Jan. 25, 27, and 28, but did not provide him with medical care.
Nadeau submitted two written requests for medical care on Feb. 1, the same week a powerful ice storm hit the city, causing some jail staff to miss their shifts. Nonetheless, staff examined the knee again. But, according to Webber’s records, they did not provide medical care. On Feb. 4, with the ice storm still disrupting jail operations, he again submitted a written request for care. He received an appointment with the jail’s physician but was not taken to it. He had another appointment set for Feb. 9, after the storm abated, but wasn’t taken to it.
By this point, Nadeau had been locked in jail for over two weeks. He told us the pain was so bad he dissociated from reality. “I would hallucinate,” Nadeau remembered, “and I had these dreams that were so real, of going to Whole Foods and doing things outside the cell as if the door was open. At one point, I created some type of juice formula that got color back into the leg. And none of those things happened of course.”
“He was always arrested for some nothing thing, causing trouble but not harming anyone.” – Attorney Rebecca Webber
On Feb. 10, Nadeau was visited by his court-appointed attorney, Morgan Shelburne, who was horrified by his appearance. “I believe that he has a bone infection in his knee that has rapidly advanced,” she wrote to county officials after the visit, “and he has not received adequate medical care, putting his health at severe risk.” Shelburne described Nadeau’s knee as red and swollen to the size of a small cabbage. She wrote that he was unable to get to the toilet and water fountain. She said she feared that if he were not sent to a hospital immediately his knee would become septic.
Nadeau had another doctor’s appointment that day. He was not taken to it. As he lay in his cell, Shelburne got an order from a judge allowing her to photograph his condition. Flies flew from the cell when guards opened the door the next day. Shelburne found Nadeau disoriented, lying in feces. A medical officer evaluated him but only by peering through the cell’s food chute, because of the stench. The officer ordered that Nadeau be given naproxen but not that he immediately be taken to a doctor. Nadeau did not see a doctor on Feb. 12 or 13 either.
On Feb. 14, Shelburne wrote to Travis County officials again, describing what she had seen three days earlier. “Mr. Nadeau had blood near his anus that was visible while he was on the floor. The toilet was full. There were pieces of food, feces, empty Styrofoam containers, and urine on the floor surrounding Mr. Nadeau. Mr. Nadeau had a blanket that barely covered his left leg. Flies flew out of his cell. Mr. Nadeau was dirty and unwashed. His injuries appeared to not have been treated. Mr. Nadeau had bruises on his legs and bed sores. Feces was stuck to his backside.”
Nadeau was finally seen by a doctor at the jail the next day, Feb 15. The doctor immediately called an ambulance. At the hospital, doctors decided they had to amputate Nadeau’s leg to save his life. First, they amputated below the knee, to try to preserve the leg’s usefulness. But the infection was still active. They amputated again, taking off the knee.
Webber told us that Nadeau’s story is the worst case of negligence she’s ever heard associated with the Travis County Jail. She and Nadeau are suing Travis County, accusing jail officials of violating Nadeau’s rights under the Rehabilitation Act and Americans With Disabilities Act. Federal Judge Robert Pitman ruled in May that Webber has presented strong arguments and the lawsuit can go forward. If the county doesn’t settle, the trial will begin next February.
After Nadeau’s leg was amputated, his son, Phil, found him a house in San Marcos. Nadeau told the Chronicle that he now sees his grandchildren, goes to church, and is receiving therapy. But he finds it very hard to move around. He has a prosthetic that cost tens of thousands of dollars but hasn’t been able to master it. He said he feels suicidal urges and tried to step in front of a bus after the amputation.
“Everything’s so difficult to do,” he said. “Other people can do it, but I can’t seem to do it. It’s more than I can handle.”
This article appears in June 27 • 2025.