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Family Wants Answers In Death Of Man In Police Custody

A photo of Marcus Deon Smith, pictured on the left. Image courtesy of the Homeless Union of Greensboro

A group of more than 20 community organizations wants the City of Greensboro to review what happened to a man who died in police custody. The family of Marcus Deon Smith says a restraining method used by the officers contributed to his death.

On September 8th Greensboro Police officers responded to an incident on North Church Street. A police report describes Smith as disoriented and suicidal, and running in and out of traffic. And they say, when officers attempted to transport him for mental evaluation, he became combative and collapsed.

Smith was taken to a hospital for further treatment where he died about an hour later.

But his family and their attorney viewed body camera footage of the incident. They allege Smith stopped breathing after he was held in what they call a "hogtie restraint." His family members joined several groups during a press conference Wednesday at the Beloved Community Center to talk about their concerns.

Marcus Hyde with the Homeless Union of Greensboro says they've sent a signed letter to city council asking members to review the footage and take whatever action they feel is necessary.

“We want to make sure that the police don't go out and hogtie another individual who is just walking down the street or perhaps is in the throws of a mental health crisis," he says. "Nobody in this community deserves to be treated like an animal.”

The city of Greensboro sent a news release out responding to the in-custody death of Marcus Deon Smith. It says "The Guilford County District Attorney's office forwarded a letter to the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) indicating, based on the information collected by the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), pending its final report, there was no criminal liability with the police actions concerning this incident. The district attorney's office states the officers acted at all times within the scope of their duties and with justification under all applicable laws.

The city also says "The SBI final report is not complete, but the position of the district attorney's office is there is sufficient evidence to support its decision related to the officers' actions. A GPD internal review was completed and no violations of policy were found."

"The loss of any member of the community is unfortunate. The City of Greensboro has a process for residents to bring concerns to the Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Commission. The commission is tasked with reviewing criminal justice issues and working closely with the Greensboro Police Department," says city officials in the news release.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

*Editor's Note: This story has been updated with information from the city of Greensboro.

 

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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