The wife of a New York man who died in police custody is claiming that police didn’t act quickly enough to save him after he complained of dizziness.
Andrew Kearse, 36, of the Bronx, was visiting a friend in May when police pulled him over for driving erratically. According to police, the father of nine, who was paroled 15 days earlier, then ran away from the officers, reported the New York Daily News, who said he had previously served time for selling drugs and grand larceny.
Police chased him and then took him into custody. AP reported that he failed to report to his parole officer and an “absconder” warrant was released for his arrest, correction records show.
But on the way to the station, he lost consciousness after complaining of dizziness. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Kearse’s wife, Angelique Negroni-Kearse, said she wants answers.
“Officers themselves were judge, jury and executioner for my husband,” she told The Associated Press this week, saying she learned of his death in news reports. “They did not give him the medical attention he asked for.”
A local person who lives nearby said that when police chased him down, he heard someone scream in pain. “The fella screamed that they broke his leg and they were hurting him,” Terry Cuzdey said, AP reported.
The cause of death hasn’t been released by the Schenectady county medical examiner.
Schenectady Police released this statement on the matter last month, News10 reported:
“On May 11, 2017 a member of the Schenectady Police Department was involved in a traffic related incident that lead to Andrew Kearse being placed under arrest. While in police custody, Mr. Kearse became unresponsive and required medical attention. Mr. Kearse was rendered medical assistance by members of the Schenectady Police Department and Schenectady Fire Department and transported to Ellis Hospital where he succumbed to this medical condition and passed. An immediate notification to the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office was made and the New York State Police were brought in to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. I have turned over the investigation into Mr. Kearses death to the New York State Police and offered full cooperation from the Schenectady Police Department. Additionally, the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office has made a notification to the New York State Attorney General’s Office, who is providing additional oversight to this investigation.
As chief of the Schenectady Police Department I recognize that incidents of this nature create questions in the community that people want and deserve to have answered, and that the failure to immediately answer them may give rise to public concern.
It is my intention to oversee an objective, independent review of all actions taken by the police during this arrest, but stress that it is important that incidents be thoroughly and independently investigated before all of these questions and concerns can be answered and ultimate findings can be made.
I ask for the public’s patience with the release of facts, as none will be made available until the New York State Police conclude their investigation.”
