DALLAS — Following weeks of passionate protests, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez released surveillance video showing the final moments of Joseph Hutcheson’s life.
Hutcheson, 48, died Aug. 1 in the lobby of the Dallas County jail. He entered the lobby acting erratically and begging for help. Sheriff’s officers handcuffed him. The video appears to confirm witness accounts that a sheriff’s deputy pressed his knee into Hutcheson’s neck.
“First and foremost, our condolences go out to the family of Joseph Hutcheson,” said Sheriff Valdez. “We also want to thank all the people who have come forward. As with any investigation, we continue to seek information.”
The video footage shows Hutcheson entering the lobby. He stumbles around and appears to be distressed. He sits down on a bench , and several people scatter. It’s unclear what he may have said to make people move away from him.
Sheriff’s officials previously said that Hutcheson was yelling that his wife was trying to kill him.
He stands up and approaches a sheriff’s deputy. Several more deputies arrive.
Shortly after walking away, appearing to be limping, a sheriff’s deputy approaches Hutcheson and aggressively takes him to the ground.
Another deputy presses his knee into Hutcheson’s neck.
“The video shows it,” Scott Palmer, the family’s attorney said. “It’s just a question of how much force and what force and what damage was caused by that.”
Another deputy straddles Hutcheson. When they lift him up minutes later, he’s limp and motionless.
About 10 minutes pass before a medical professional arrives and starts chest compressions.
The sheriff’s office also provided a timeline of events leading up to the death.
Hutcheson checked into Parkland Hospital around 4:17 a.m.
He left the hospital at 9:48 a.m. “against medical advice,”. Hutcheson entered the jail lobby about 10:24 a.m.
James Hutcheson, Joseph’s brother, told News 8 that he’s even more angry and upset after viewing the video.
“My brother needed help,” he said. “You treat some people like they have a medical emergency, not everybody like a criminal. I can tell you that he wasn’t going to hurt anybody.”
Jeff Hood, a civil rights activist who has been working with the family, had similar comments.
“This man was sick and they treated him like a criminal,” Hood said. “This video once again shows that we cannot trust the sheriff to investigate this.”
Source Article from http://www.copblock.org/139173/video-released-dallas-cops-kill-man-begging-for-help-in-jail-lobby/
Views: 0