By Courtney Jacobs
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper
Nine Georgia deputies were fired May 8 in connection with the death of a Nigerian man while in police custody five months earlier.
According to CNN, Mathew Ajibade, 21, was arrested in Savannah, Ga. on Jan. 1 when police received a phone call about a domestic disturbance. Chatham County, Ga. Sheriff’s Office deputies responding to the scene allegedly saw Ajibade holding a bruised and bleeding woman under a blanket. Ajibade suffered from bipolar disorder, according to a lawyer hired by his family.
Ajibade was arrested and handcuffed to a chair in an isolation cell after he became combative with officers during the booking process, The Guardian reported. Ajibade’s family believes police Tasered him while he was strapped to the chair, according to NBC News; he was later found unresponsive.
In the immediate aftermath of Ajibade’s death, two deputies were suspended without pay pending the results of an investigation, police said.
Authorities have not detailed the exact role the nine fired deputies played in Ajibade’s death. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Affairs Division of the Chatham County, Ga. Sheriff’s Office are both conducting investigations.
The Sheriff’s Office said it will institute new procedures that require medical personnel to be notified when a person with medication arrives for booking, as well as new implement security procedures to review the use of Taser-like devices and a clear written policy of when Tasers may not be used, according to CNN.
