Family, lawyer, activists blast Milwaukee jail for ‘preventable’ suicide

Conditions in the Milwaukee County Jail are under scrutiny following a Thursday meeting between Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and the family of Brieon Green. In June, the 21-year-old Green was found dead in his jail cell hours after being arrested for misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, carrying a concealed weapon, and three counts of felony bail jumping. Green’s family was able to view security footage Thursday which shows Green strangling himself with a phone cord.

One of the family’s attorneys B’iVory LaMarr, pointed out that a correctional officer walked by Green’s cell as he was taking his own life. The video has not been released, nor have other details of  the investigation, conducted by the Waukesha County sheriff’s department. During a Thursday night press conference with the family, LaMarr highlighted that Green suffered from mental illness.

LaMarr said that the jail was aware of Green’s mental health, and previous suicide attempts while he’d been in custody previously. The attorney said the jail “completely dismissed that knowledge,” and charged that  protocols and procedures to protect people held within the jail weren’t followed.

“What we were able to witness was video surveillance taken from this facility whereas Brieon Green entered into the facility, went through a booking process which we don’’t believe was followed adequately, and essentially 28 minutes later utilized what was supposed to be an anti-suicidal phone cord … put that around his neck and ultimately take his own life,” said LaMarr. “One of the most disturbing aspects of what we witnessed today was that this incident was completely preventable. We saw an officer go by Brieon Green’s cell during the course of him taking his own life. Brieon Green literally had a phone cord, strangling himself with the phone cord, while a sheriff’s officer goes directly past the cell while he was supposed to be conducting a cell check.”

LaMarr said that the video, once released, will show Green’s body “completely dips down and shifts immediately after the deputy walks by, after he was strangling himself with the phone cord.” Even the family’s attorneys don’t have the entirety of the file on Green’s case. However, they have been able to review several statements made by correctional staff, as well as the surveillance video. LaMarr told Wisconsin Examiner that he expects the file and video will be released within the next couple of weeks.

Green’s aunt, Monique Brewer, said, “This is the day that we’ve been waiting for.”

“We just wanted to know what happened,” Brewer added. “And in the midst of this happening, it could have been prevented. Someone was standing right outside the door … didn’t even look at him. He was locked in the room while eight other prisoners was sitting out in the common area, able to use the phone. And he was locked in the room, with an inoperable phone, by himself. We have to come together to change the rules, the laws, that affect us.”

Green’s death is just the latest  chapter in the jail’s troubled history of in-custody deaths. One of the more high-profile cases occurred in 2016 with the death of 38-year-old Terrill Thomas. After flooding his first cell, Thomas, who was mentally ill, was placed in solitary confinement. Correctional staff also shut off the water to Thomas’ cell, and kept it that way for a week. At the end of that week Thomas was found dead in his cell of profound dehydration. Lawsuits filed in the wake of Thomas’ death showed that since 2011, at least 40 women had been shackled in the jail while they gave birth. Since 2008, at least 17 people have died while in the sheriff’s custody.

The Thomas case ended in a $6.75 million settlement paid by the county to Thomas’ family. Former Sheriff David Clarke Jr. resigned as the controversy mounted. Two correctional officers and the jail’s former commander, Major Nancy Evans, received sentences ranging from 30 days to nine months in prison. Milwaukee recently elected a new sheriff, Denita Ball, earlier this year. Ball stated that the office would support innovative programs and technology, public safety, transparency and accountability under her leadership.

In Green’s case, the details are still being hashed out. On Thursday, the Milwaukee district attorney’s office stated that it is reviewing the matter and that more information will be made available once the office’s review is complete. LaMarr said criminal charges have not yet been mentioned during private talks with the district attorney.

Local activists have their eyes trained closely on the case. The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression issued a statement on Friday. “It is inhumane and unjust that a family had to wait nearly half a year in emotional limbo to see footage regarding the death of their loved one,” the Alliance said in a statement. “The suffering the family had to endure is entirely by the hands of [the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office].” The statement continues, “from the start of the year to August, the Milwaukee County Jail had seen four inmate deaths. It’s clear that this is a big issue which means that there needs to be big changes made to how the Milwaukee County Jail operates.”

The Alliance and the Justice for Brieon Green Coalition have three demands including firing and charging correctional officers who failed to intervene in Green’s death. The Alliance and Coalition are also demanding that all footage related to misconduct in the sheriff’s office be released within 48 hours of the incident, and the names of officers involved released within 24 hours. Lastly, the groups demand that Sheriff Ball meet with Green’s family to discuss policy changes to prevent more in-custody deaths.