On Friday, Aug. 6, Raul Pinet Jr. died while in the custody
of the Onondaga County Justice Center in Syracuse, N.Y. Pinet was arrested on
charges of trespassing and resisting arrest.
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Raul Pinet Jr. |
Family members of Pinet who were present at the time of
arrest said that officers were beating him severely. Video footage from a cell
phone shows Pinet being pinned to the ground by a crowd of officers, being
punched and moaning in agony. His sister, Luz Pinet, said that he was bleeding,
had a bump under his eye, was bleeding from his mouth and was screaming for
help because he could not breathe.
When Pinet was taken to the Justice Center, a nurse examined
him and noticed “a few abrasions” but failed to treat him. His restraints and
clothes were removed and he was left naked and face-down on the floor. Fifteen
minutes later, Pinet became unconscious and died.
This death comes as Chundra Smith is preparing to sue
Onondaga County for the death of her daughter, Chuniece Patterson. Patterson
was an inmate who died in custody at the Justice Center last year after being
denied medical care while having an ectopic pregnancy. A report recently
released this year documents the deliberate negligence of nurses and deputies
involved.
Sheriff Kevin Walsh, who last year called Patterson’s death
“natural,” recently commented in the case of Pinet that “everything seemed to
be very much by the book.” Walsh is right: police brutality and the murder of
inmates is “by the book” at the Syracuse Justice Center.
