Last Thanksgiving, Laterral England was at home watching a film with her brother, Terry Lee Thurmond. When Thurmond left the house, he left his phone behind. When she was not able to talk to him and he did not contact her, England searched for her brother for days but couldn’t locate him.
She later was shocked to find out that Thurmond had died in police custody in the Clayton County jail. Now she desperately wants to know what exactly happened that led to his death.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the 38-year-old father of three was arrested for trespassing at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. He was found in a secure area without a plane ticket, ID or boarding pass. He got through airport security pretending to be an employee pushing a man in a wheelchair.
Police were called when a customer at an airport shop complained to an employee that Thurmond had made “aggressive advances” toward her and was following her. She said he was harassing her and making sexual comments.
While detained at the Clayton County jail, he tried to jump over a railing about nine feet high, while jail officers and other inmates tried to stop him.
Thurmond was Tased during his struggle with the officers. They held him face down for around 10 to 15 minutes and when the Taser prongs were removed, he was unresponsive despite the chest compressions that were given to him.
“When they Tased him, did he fall? Did he hit his head? What happened?” England wanted answers. She said that her brother was sweet and that he sometimes got into trouble because of his mental health problems. He often forgot to take his medication. The deceased had history of bipolar disorder, paranoid schizophrenia and hypertension.
England has requested the security footage from the incident. Meanwhile, the GBI is currently doing an investigation regarding the incident.
Tasha Mosley, the Clayton County District Attorney, is also waiting for the investigation’s results.