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Family Of Woman Who Died In Custody Says LAPD Is Lying To Them
The family and friends of a woman who was found dead in her jail cell at the LAPD’s Metropolitan Detention Center on Easter Sunday believe both the Police Department and L.A. County Coroner’s department are lying to them, according to KABC.
Officially, 36-year-old Wakiesha Wilson died after hanging herself in her jail cell, ruled a suicide by the Coroner’s department. Her family disputes the claim, saying that they had spoken to Wilson that same day, and had made plans to see her at a court hearing on Tuesday, March 29th.
According to her mother, Wilson said she would call home later on Sunday evening. She never did. Then, on Tuesday, Wilson failed to appear at her hearing, causing her family to worry more.
It wasn’t until Wednesday that the family found out Wilson had died. After repeated inquiries, Lisa Hines, Wilson’s mother, was given a phone number for the County Coroner’s office. When she called, learned that her daughter had died while in police custody, supposedly by hanging herself.
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Understandably, the family feels like something’s being covered up, especially given there’s vague information about a disagreement with a detention officer.
"We know there was some kind of disagreement with a detention officer or an LAPD officer. We know that after that disagreement she passed away," Jaaye Person-Lynn, an attorney hired by the family, said to ABC7.
Aside from the ambiguous details surrounding Wilson’s death, the family believes the fact that they weren’t notified of her death until Wednesday—that is four days after Wilson died—are indicators of wrongdoing or a cover up..
LAist will update our readers on this story as we learn more.
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