INSIDE
Your entertainment
guide Page 33
Police Blotter ..........................8
Opinion ...................................30
Letters ..................................... 31
HOW TO REACH US
COURIER L 4 IFE, JUNE 11-17, 2021
SEEKING JUSTICE
ONE YEAR LATER
Family of Jamel Floyd vows to sue MDC for wrongful death
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Activists joined the family
of Jamel Floyd outside
the Metropolitan Detention
Center in Sunset Park Thursday
night to mark the oneyear
anniversary of Floyd’s
death — where Floyd’s parents
vowed to bring a wrongful
death lawsuit against the
federal lockup.
“I am in so much pain, I
couldn’t even describe it,”
Floyd’s father James said to
the crowd of about two dozen
people. “But, life goes on and
we’re here to fi ght and let the
folks in this facility know
that we’re gonna fi ght with
all our might.”
Floyd died on June 3 of last
year at MDC, after being pepper
sprayed in the face by jail
guards; he suffered a heart
attack and died at a nearby
hospital. The federal Bureau
of Prisons, which runs MDC,
has said that Floyd had been
banging against his cell window
with a metal object before
guards maced him.
Donna Mays, Floyd’s
mother, has stressed that
her son was asthmatic and
diabetic, and argued that
the mace is what caused his
death, but the city’s Medical
Examiner maintained that
Floyd had a “synthetic cannabinoid”
in his system at the
time that caused the heart attack.
Floyd’s parents disagree
— James told Brooklyn Paper
Friday that the macing
and the length of time before
Floyd was administered medical
treatment were responsible
— and the two said Thursday
that MDC should be shut
down.
“There’s no way in hell
that this jail should be operating,”
said Mays, noting that
she had recently seen footage
from the day her son died. “I
don’t know how they sleep at
night. I haven’t slept without
taking some kind of sleep aid
every night. So how the hell
do they go home and rest in
their beds, knowing what
they’ve done?”
Speaking with Brooklyn
Paper, Floyd’s parents said
they’ll be announcing further
details on the lawsuit later this
month at a press conference,
but that after having seen the
tapes, they believe that MDC
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2021 by Brooklyn Courier Life
LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles and photographs may not be reproduced, either in whole
or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address changes to
Brooklyn Courier Life LLC, One MetroTech North, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Mail:
Courier Life,
1 Metrotech Center North
3rd Floor, Brooklyn,
N.Y. 11201
General Phone:
(718) 260-2500
News Fax:
(718) 260-2592
News E-Mail:
editorial@schnepsmedia.com
Display Ad Phone:
(718) 260-8302
Display Ad E-Mail:
rdonofrio@schnepsmedia.com
Display Ad Fax:
(718) 260-2579
Classified Phone:
(718) 260-2555
Classified Fax:
(718) 260-2549
Classified E-Mail:
classified@schnepsmedia.com
link
link
link
link
link
link