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
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.
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