CRIMINAL JUSTICE
City Pays $5.9MM in Suit over Polanco’s Rikers Death
Family, advocates say this is just the fi rst step, demand overdue criminal justice reforms
BY MATT TRACY
New York City has
reached a $5.9 million
settlement with the
family of Layleen Xtravaganza
Cubilette-Polanco more
than a year after she died in her
“restrictive housing” cell at Rikers
Island, a major development in a
case that has drawn national attention
and brought urgency to the
movements to dismantle solitary
confi nement, end cash bail, and
decriminalize sex work.
The settlement stemmed from
the Polanco family’s lawsuit for
reckless indifference and represented
the largest payout in history
by the city for an individual
who died in custody, according to
the New York City Anti-Violence
Project (AVP).
In response, Polanco’s family
described the settlement as a “diffi
Layleen Polanco’s sister, Melania Brown, has been advocating on behalf of her late sister since last
summer.
cult decision” and made it clear
that it was just an incremental step
in a much broader push for justice
for Polanco and other trans women
of color who have lost their lives at
far too young an age.
MATT TRACY
“This lawsuit was only one way
we were seeking justice for Layleen
and this is only just the start.” Polanco’s
sister, Melania Brown, said
in a written statement. “To this
day, despite evidence of negligence,
no one has been held accountable
for my sister’s death. The guards
who were responsible for caring for
my sister must be fi red.”
It has been an enduring slog for
a family that demanded answers
from the moment they found out
that Polanco, a 27-year-old Afro-
Latinx trans woman, was found
dead in her jail cell in June of last
year due to seizures caused by epilepsy.
Following investigations and
vigilant advocacy on the part of
Polanco’s family and others, it was
revealed that jail offi cials tasked
with overseeing her well-being
did not adequately provide mental
healthcare to her and carelessly
blew off her health emergency on
the fi nal day she was alive.
➤ POLANCO LAWSUIT, continued on p.37
De Blasio’s Vagueness in Addressing Sex Work Decrim
Unclear if mayor would go further than pledging end of arrests of the trade’s sellers
BY MATT TRACY
Mayor Bill de Blasio offered
a vague explanation
of his views
regarding the decriminalization
of sex work during
a press conference with reporters
on September 2.
De Blasio delved into the topic
after answering a question from
Rosa Goldensohn of The City regarding
the case of Layleen Xtravaganza
Cubilette-Polanco, a transgender
woman who died of seizures
caused by epilepsy in solitary confi
nement at Rikers last year while
being held in part on sex workrelated
charges. De Blasio started
off by saying that Polanco, whose
family’s lawsuit yielded a $5.9
million settlement from the city,
should not have been in jail or solitary
confi nement.
The mayor then segued into
Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a news conference on September 2, lacked specifi cs when conveying
his views on sex work decriminalization.
comments about how police should
treat sex workers and even admitted
that his response lacked specifics,
saying that his “broad answer”
REUTERS/ CARLO ALLEGRI
to the question of whether sex
workers should be arrested “is no.”
“The people who are organizing
and profi ting from that sex
work are the people who should
be arrested,” he said, apparently
not taking into consideration sex
workers who profi t from their own
independent work. “The people are
exploiting those women and, in
many cases, men, anybody, anyone
who’s exploiting folks who do
sex work, those are the people we
should be arresting. So, we’ll continue
to look at the NYPD’s protocols,
but I think we have to really
go after the true criminals here.”
He later added that “the focus is
on those who profi t from sex work,
not those who do the sex work.”
It was not clear whether de Blasio
was referring to traffi ckers,
buyers, or others when he said
people “organizing and profi ting”
from sex work and that those who
“are exploiting” individuals should
be arrested.
➤ DE BLASIO & DECRIM, continued on p.37
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