Family Of Brooklyn Inmate Who Died Demand Medical Records, Video

BROOKLYN, NY — The family of a man who died after being pepper sprayed by guards in Brooklyn federal prison last month are still without his medical records and a surveillance video of the moments leading to his death, their attorney said this week.

Jamel Floyd, 35, died in Metropolitan Detention Center on June 3 after guards pepper sprayed him in his prison cell, saying he had barricaded himself inside and broken the window with a metal object, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Floyd's family — who held his funeral in Hempstead, NY on Tuesday — called on the BOP this week to "swiftly" release his records and a video that was taken of the moments leading up to his death.

The family will use the records for an independent investigation of Floyd's death that will help them decide their next step, including potential legal action, their attorneys said.

“The violent and senseless death of Jamel Floyd, yet another young Black man who died in the custody of law enforcement — this time in a federal jail facility — is disturbing,” said Katherine Rosenfeld, one of the attorneys said. “This heartbroken family deserves truthful answers about what happened to Jamel Floyd.”

Floyd, who had been in jail since 2007 for a home invasion robbery, had been scheduled to be released from the prison in just a few months.

His brother, Ramel Floyd, said the two were planning to start a moving truck business later this year. His mom, Donna Mays, said she had plans for Jamel to walk her down the aisle at her upcoming wedding.

“Everything was lining up for the next part of my brother’s life—he was so close to getting out and then they took him away from us,” Ramel said.

The Office of the Inspector General has launched an investigation into Floyd's death.

The incident has sparked condemnation from elected officials and protesters, who held a demonstration dedicated to Jamel Floyd amid ongoing protests against police brutality sparked by the death of another black man, George Floyd.

His death also came just a few weeks after another MDC inmate, Kenneth Houck, 44, died on May 19.

Conditions at the Sunset Park jail have been investigated multiple times in recent years, including following a supposed power outage in January 2018 that left inmates trapped freezing in their cells and sparked national protests. In another investigation, a judge described the prison's conditions as "third world," without windows, fresh air, sunlight and cramped quarters.