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Updated
April 15, 2015

 

From Time-Warner Channel 9. Note the announcement of the protest in the evening right in the headline! Like the rest of the corporate media outfits such as Time-Warner TV have consistently censored or intentionally misreported the impacts of mass protests. so to see them actually announce an upcoming public demonstration is very strange and makes me wonder what compels them to break their own hard fast rules like that.

Community Rally Being Held as Albany PD Investigates Death of Man in Custody

By Geoff Redick
Updated Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 04:00 PM EDT

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Just one day after his 39th birthday, a detective delivered the news to Donald Ivy's family, that Donald had died, after an encounter with police.

"Why did you stop him? What was your reason for stopping him — a man on his way home?” said Ivy’s sister, Aneisha Johnson.

Donald Ivy's sister has these and many more questions, for the Albany Police Department.

“I couldn't believe it,” said his aunt, Celinda Okwuosa.

His aunt has questions too, just one day after an early-morning encounter with police, ended in her nephew Donald Ivy's death.

"Around 12:40 in the morning, at Second and Lark, we had officers stop a gentleman,” said Albany Police Acting Chief Brendan Cox.

Police say Ivy was walking near Lark Street and Second Street when three officers, identified as Joshua Sears, Michael Mahany, and Charles Skinkle, stopped Ivy about a hundred yards from his home, and at some point their interaction became physical. A 50,000 volt Taser was deployed, the department said the weapon drops to 1,200 volts upon impact.

But police say it did not stop their subject. He ran away down Second Street.

"They wound up finally getting him in custody. Unfortunately, they recognized that he had gone into a medical emergency. They were able to take handcuffs off of him. They immediately started CPR,” said Cox.

Ivy was eventually taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. His family said the cause was a heart attack. They found out at 6 a.m. Thursday.

"My nephew is mentally ill. He has been for a number of years,” said Okwuosa.

The family said Donald Ivy was diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, and on medication for his illness.

"It wasn't like he had issues where he was just out here being a menace or anything. The extent of his illness was that he kept to himself. He'd go out, get a couple smokes, and come home,” said Johnson.

And the family claims that if Albany Police had truly embraced community policing in this neighborhood, things would have turned out differently.

“They would have known that he was mentally ill. And they would have dealt with it from that perspective. Which they did not, and as a result, I had to see my nephew in the morgue today,” said Okwuosa.

The family also questions about just how violent the incident was. They say there were bruises on Donald's head and body when they viewed it Thursday morning.

Meantime, APD's internal probe continues. All three officers involved are on paid administrative leave. The department is reviewing witness accounts along with any video surveillance they can find.

There is a community rally planned for 7 p.m. Friday outside the Albany Police Department's South End station. Organizers are already demanding that the involved officers be fired, and Albany police be disarmed, in the wake of this death.

 

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