Frustrated by what it calls troubling and unanswered questions surrounding the death of an inmate at the Onondaga County Justice Center, a group called the United as One Coalition is calling on the State Commission of Correction to release its report on the August 2010 death of Raul Pinet, Jr., who died in custody.
A prior article posted on this website indicated the United As One Coalition issued a report on this matter, it did not. It is seeking the state's report, which it believes is long overdue.
Pinet died on August 6, 2010. After his death in custody, the medical examiner determined he died as a result of "cocaine-induced excited delirium". The M.E. said at the time, "This is a condition resulting from the use of cocaine in which an individual becomes acutely disoriented and agitated and displays violent behavior and combativeness. This condition is frequently fatal and individuals affected are prone to sudden death because of the effects of cocaine and adrenaline on the heart."
The United as One Coalition tells CNYcentral its main goal is to get answers about, "the senseless death of an inmate at the hands of jail staff, who completely failed to follow proper policy and procedure this case cries out for truth to be heard and justice to be done, and changes to be made to prevent another tragedy." At the time of Pinet's death, Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh told CNYcentral: Pinet was examined by an on-staff nurse, who said his injuries did not appear life-threatening, and then he was put in a holding room with rubber walls and floors, his restraints and clothes cut off. Walsh says Pinet was monitored by camera, and by a deputy who stood at windows looking down into the room. When they realized he was not moving, they re-assembled the emergency team and went back into the room (Walsh says there's a protocol because inmates have faked stillness and attacked deputies), called an ambulance, brought in an AED and began cpr. The ambulance arrived within 5 minutes and took Pinet to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The United as One Coalition formed shortly after the deaths of Pinet and Chaunice Patterson in the Onondaga County Jail in order to advocate for greater transparency and accountability for law enforcement agencies in the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County. Patterson, 21, died of complications in her pregnancy in jail in November 2009. She had been arrested on a bench warrant for numerous mischief, weapons, theft and contempt charges. The coalition believes jail deputies failed to follow proper policy and procedure and that this case, "cries out for truth to be heard and justice to be done, and changes to be made to prevent another tragedy."
