Matthew Ajibade was arrested on a domestic violence charge in January and was later found dead, strapped to a chair in a county jail in Savannah, Ga. A grand jury indicted two former jail employees and a health care worker in the college student’s death, yet another in a list of fatal encounters between law enforcement and black men. Former jail workers Maxine Evans and Jason Kenny and contract health care worker Gregory Brown are charged with involuntary manslaughter. Kenny is also charged with aggravated assault and cruelty to an inmate. Evans and Brown are charged with public record fraud, and Brown faces an additional charge of making a false statement.
Ajibade, 21, was found dead Jan. 1 strapped to a chair inside an isolation cell at the Chatham County Jail. The man had been stunned with a Taser while he was restrained, was left unmonitored, and a log book had been falsified to say that checks were conducted on him that hadn’t been, according to the grand jury bill. The Savannah College of Art and Design student had been arrested after a fight with his girlfriend. The sheriff’s office has said Ajibade injured three deputies during a fight and one deputy suffered a concussion and a broken nose. Attorneys for Ajibade’s family say he suffered from bipolar disorder and his girlfriend gave police a bottle of his prescription medication when they arrested him.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to handle the case, and few details were released about what happened to Ajibade in the jail. Brown is accused of lying to a GBI agent about checking on Ajibade while he was in restraints. On May 8, Sheriff Al St. Lawrence announced that nine deputies had been fired in connection with Ajibade’s death. On June 4, attorneys for Ajibade’s family released a copy of his death certificate, which showed the coroner had ruled his death a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma. Dr. Bill Wessinger, the Chatham County coroner, said Ajibade suffered several blows to his head and upper body and some blood was found in his skull case. My recollection is none of them by themselves would have necessarily been fatal,” Wessinger recently said of the injuries.
The case has put an uncomfortable spotlight on St. Lawrence, the 80-year-old sheriff who has held the office since 1992. The sheriff has promised changes since Ajibade’s death. He fired the deputies deemed responsible, hired consultants to review jail operations and temporarily removed all stun guns from the jail until deputies could be re-trained in their proper use.
Legal Analysis: Anytime a person is being held in police custody, the police department and the employees on duty are liable for their care. The officers who are caring for the person being held are responsible for the safety and welfare for the persons in their facility. Even the “worst of the worst” prisoners are to be cared for.
In recent months we have seen several incidents of people being injured or killed while in custody. The Sandra Bland case is one of those incidents which she was in custody and died. The officers who held her are ultimately responsible, such as in the case of Mr. Ajibade.
About the Author: Eric Guster is an attorney nationally recognized for his legal analysis. He appears weekly on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC providing legal insight into the nation’s most interesting and complex cases. Guster’s Law firm is based in Birmingham, Al. If you are need of legal help, call Eric Guster today at 205-581-9777 or email Eric@gusterlawfirm.com
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