Eighteen Year Old Boy Dies After Jail House Beating by Sheriff’s Deputies

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/08/17/eighteen-year-old-boy-dies-after-jail-ho

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is supposedly conducting an investigation into the death and possible murder of an 18-year-old boy who was taken to the Rutherford County jail in Tennessee.

It seems things went a little bit too far. Young Andron Reed died or was killed soon after he was handed over to County Sheriff’s deputies late Friday night. He had been arrested after leading state troopers on a high-speed chase down Interstate 24, which ended in a slight accident. Luckily for all no one was injured according to the highway patrol officers who took Andron and his brother Octavius into custody at the scene. Of course Andron was arrested on a variety of charges ranging from evading arrest to driving under the influence and even assault, but how many times have we heard about people being falsely charged with assault by the police to justify or cover their actions.

After Andron was booked at the Rutherford County jail, they immediately took him to a cell, apparently within ear shot of his brother Octavius, who was able to hear Andron's screams as he was being beaten by Sheriff’s deputies. The TBI said Andron Reed was found unconscious and not moving by the jail house nurse who had him taken by ambulance to the Middle Tennessee Medical Center, where he later died.

TBI agents only have the information provided by the same jailers who may have murdered Andron. They claim that he was combative during the arrest and booking process. Since Andron Reed is dead he can't dispute the claim. If The TBI really is investigating the tragic death of this eighteen year old boy it will all hinge on the the autopsy. If it is a real autopsy and not another cover up, the results should tell us how Andron Reed died, or was murdered. If it is determined that he was murdered, one of the 'untouchable' police could actually be charged with the murder, something which almost never happens in the US unless the police are actually careless enough to be video recorded by witnesses while shooting an unarmed person in the back.

Bush is no longer the president and yet the corrupt police state he turned America into continues. Obama promised change, but has changed nothing about the egregious cruelty and abuse of authority by the police. Hundreds die in police custody each year, when will the American people rise up and say no more, no more tazer torture deaths, no more stripping naked and molesting of our wives, sons, and daughters, no more permanently disfiguring and disabling beatings. When will America start screening police applicants to weed out the sublimated sadists and killers? When will the legal system start punishing the police instead of consistently finding them innocent?

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August 17, 2009 By Raymond Ponzini

no cause of death by the medical examiner, just what he "didn't" die of, which is what i am convinced he did die of: being beaten to death in his jail cell. the comments run the gamut.

i deplore racism.

Dear god, when will it end? Oh yeah, when liberals keep bashing their own and we get another Republican in office. As I say to everyone who posts this anti-Obama garbage, 'Thank you'. I'm sure we'll all just love our Republican Congress in 2010 and President Palin in 2012. It would not have been possible without your help.

Why is his name even in the article?

Would ANY President have stopped this from happening some how?

Camaras everywhere and handhelds when a drunk or high person is especially combative. I hope the autopsy can help solve this case.

Nothing like a "High Speed Chase" to work up the adrenalin of the arresting officers and of course the supposed bite marks were not documented with photos which would prove whose teeth actually made those bite marks

Jail house guards routinely find a "Out of Sight Spot" such as an elevator, storage closet, or solitary confinement cell to extract revenge

The whole thing stinks

death.
I know someone related to this poor man:
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/local_story_035004945.html

The autopsy report is available here: http://newsok.com/article/3280266

Google 'Wiley Willis'.

Yes drunk driving and resisting arrest aren't smart things to do. It doesn't give the police the right to beat somebody to death.

how the hell are we at DU supposed to gather evidence.

Let's see: The police apparently thought the suspect was ok enough to book him and not take him to the hospital. They take him into his cell. His brother hears him screaming and the sounds of a scuffle. The prisoner is dead.

Maybe the Martians killed him. Or he beat himself to death after he tasered himself numerous times. Sure couldn't have anything to do with the police officers who were in his cell at the time of his death.

The autopsy never mentioned taser injuries of any kind, it also found no injuries consistent with a beating. It is possible that he was screaming just to be screaming and that he subsequently had a seizure from a drug overdose and died from that.

to accept an unexplained death in custody.

If you are suggesting that drunk drivers or people resisting arrest should expect to die you've a peculiar view of your fellow citizens. You hint heavily that this is acceptable in police hands, if so your opinion of the police is rather lower than you realise.

the police summarily executing someone.

I'm beginning to think that there are fascists on DU.

He had to be beaten to death, then denied medical care until a nurse found him half dead in cell! I get it now.

:sarcasm:

Thanks for the inside look at the mindset at work here. Disgusting.

:thumbsup:

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with an alarming frequency!

there be much more extreme penalties for cops that not only commit crimes but violate a sworn oath while on duty? Something like twice the normal penalty.

Then of course it would have to get past the appellate courts and SCOTUS. Doubling the penalties for the crimes themselves would likely be unconstitutional. You might be able to get some type of official misconduct charge with increased penalties, some of the abuse of official power charges carry significant penalties. That's probably the direction you would have to go on it.

It is, in fact, a prejudice of mine, borne solely out of the direct observation of crowd control methods in Berkeley in the 60's, and the anecdotal evidence of all the brutality we see presented day after day.

I realize that the statistics would reveal that it is far less than a majority.

Acknowledging any prejudice is more than most here would do. Everyone has had experiences that have shaped their thinking. I had a bad run in 2 years ago with 3 cops. I managed to de-escalate things and walk away unscathed. I do realize that if I had darker skin, a bad attitude, a little bit of alcohol in me, or if they had been more pissed off things probably wouldn't have gone so well. The cops may very well be guilty in this case, I'll wait on this investigation to be completed though before I decide it's time to send them to Gitmo. Often these discussions are turned into all cops are evil threads by people who wouldn't consider themselves bigots in any way. Take care.

David

Perhaps that is where you are getting confused. :eyes:

I never referred to "THEIR CONSTITUTION". Nice try though.

A point you seem to miss as well.

I'm a parlegal and I KNOW some of the people I have served were abused by the system.

Not the word I'd use...

But it's too late for their victim.

I guess you are fine with LEO's being judge, jury and executioner.

A badge is a license to kill even more immunity-providing than 007's.

is not a reliable news source. I mention this because this is the sort of thing that makes folks who are serious about ending state-sanctioned brutality seem like a bunch of flakes. The news is the news. People can read it and decide for themselves without having a non-professional contributor to The Peoples Voice shape it around personal bias against Obama.

America will remain racist, no matter what, for at least a century from now. And to post questions like when will all this change is just stupid.
I have just read that the ME shows no cause of death. Is it possible that people believe in such crap? yes and no. mostly no, but still people tend to support the concept that the kids brought it upon themselves and would have been kickin' and alive if they had not broken the law. They also tend to throw in phrases like America is "land where there is rule of law", which I say makes perfect sense for white folks who can get away with breaking the law when it doesn't cause much trouble to others.

But when a couple of black kids take cops on a high speed chase, cause an accident , may be did drugs , resisted arrest< say the arresting cops and we all know what that means, just look at that poor professor from Harvard> all of which would have been misdemeanors, may be probably few counts of felony would have been thrown along if this case ever went to court, as the law dictates. But for the righteous white folks these kids need to be killed for what they have done. And that Sir is the rule of law in America.

...may be did drugs , and resisted arrest, I GUARANTEE you I'd be in jail right now. White or not, cops do not like it when you force them to chase you.

I'm not saying they were justified in hurting this guy once they had him in custody. But they would certainly arrest anyone under those circumstances.

Who said they needed to be killed for what they did? Do you honestly think a local ME would forge legal documents when the TBI was already investigating?

Do you pay ANY attention to goings on on this planet?

young man in custody.

in the 1970s wasn't even an MD, just a locally connected politician.

:toast:

I guess it makes a better story if the cops killed a boy.

:hi:

They're the best. So brave.

That mean old drunk driver forced them to beat him to death.

They had no choice. They're the real victims here.

The brother heard him being beaten, the text reports.

Certainly his testimony seems interesting enough to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. Will you allege that witness testimony to events within earshot is inadmissable in a court as evidence? I assume not. If it's good enough for a court, it's good enough.

Do you assume that a prosecutor will take a case before a grand jury solely on the account of a felon, whose account is contradicted by the autopsy?

Nothing to see here, folks - move along.

Autopsy shows man in Rutherford jail was not beaten to death

Investigators still don't know why an 18-year-old man died less than a day after leading Tennessee Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed chase through Rutherford County.
Advertisement

Preliminary autopsy results show Andron Reed, of Memphis, suffered minor injuries consistent with a struggle, but he was not beaten to death, said Deputy Davidson County Medical Examiner Amy McMaster. Toxicology tests for drugs and alcohol could take 10-12 weeks to produce, she said.

More at http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090819/NEWS03/908190390/Autopsy+shows+man+in+Rutherford+jail+was+not+beaten+to+death


Needless to say some of the comments following are repulsive.

They shouldn't have been hitting him either WAY, however...

"There were hemorrhages around his wrists, on the backs of his hands and in the soft tissue of his upper back," McMaster said. "The injuries were not severe and did not cause death."

I'm guess these were the results of the cops 'restraining' him.

Perhaps I'm assuming wrong though.

Just saying.

Neglected to put 'to death' at the end in the subject.

:evilfrown:

BELIEVE ME including Bush in that was tough.

Local governments are responsible for their police. While this country as whole needs to recognize and work on getting only the best officers in place - to blame the president for local level situations is ridiculous.

Situations like this are not new and were happening way before W took office. Implying it is his fault and Obama is continuing his policies over this is ridiculous.

Look up Ronnie Settles. I went to high school with him. What happened to him was a tragedy of the highest order and his death was at the hands of officers who never should have been allowed to wear a badge. This happened way before W was on the radar.

The problem with the police these days is there isn't enough mental toughness tests for them. Not everyone can be an effective officer and those that can't and lose it and physically abuse detainees are no better than those they arrest.

Really grovelbot, really?

But will probably get a slap on the wrist.

You are clearly biased.

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Your comment would be laughable, if not so tragic.

I know you worship them, but they get away with murder, regularly, mainly because of citizens like you, who believe all manner of nonsense to allow such misconduct to pass.

Of the 800,000 LEO's nationwide very few of them commit crimes against citizens. Don't let that get in the way of your bigotry. Replace LEO's with any minority group and you would be at home at a Klan rally. :hi:

It's far more common than a cop being prosecuted for misconduct.

Until I see some evidence I'll choose not to condemn an entire group of people.

hang out with cops so I think it will be a while before you condemn anything they do.

Charles Oatman was a 16 year old mentally handicapped black kid who was arrested by the Augusta, Georgia police in 1970, right around the time of the Kent State incident. Oatman was later found dead in his jail cell. The official county cororner's autopsy said he died when his head hit the floor of his cell after falling off his bed. But his family ordered a private autotopsy and it was discovered that he was covered with bruises and that he'd been killed by the impact of a blunt object to the head. What's more, his body was covered with cigarette burns and the police had obviously tortured him. When the news got out, a demonstration occurred in which the police shot and killed six African American protestors and wounded another five more. The evidence showed that the dead had all been shot in the back as they were fleeing the police, with the characteristic ammunition used by police riot shotguns. No one was ever punished for what happened to Charles Oatman.

No telling what being under the influence and fighting with cops could have done to his heart.
But, still anybody that gets high and gets behind the wheel is putting me and my family at risk.
Beat him, screw him over...let him die in his filth....

That's just begging for a school-yard beating.

J

:evilfrown:

:shrug: