Man Dies After Pepper Spray In Brooklyn Prison, Protest Planned

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A black federal inmate died in a Brooklyn lockup after guards pepper sprayed him, authorities said.

The death of Jamel Floyd, 35, on Wednesday coincided with massive protests over the killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd and daily scenes of law enforcement officers — including in New York City — using pepper spray, tear gas and batons against demonstrators.

It quickly prompted an official investigation, accusations of "murder" from his family and a planned protest Friday at 5 p.m. at Sunset Park's selfsame park.

Floyd, an inmate at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, became disruptive in his cell, federal Bureau of Prisons officials said in a statement. He barricaded himself inside his cell and broke its window with a metal object, they said.

"He came became increasingly disruptive and potentially harmful to himself and others," the release states. "Pepper spray was deployed and staff removed him from his cell."

But medical staff found Floyd was unresponsive. Medics tried to revive him as they rushed him to a nearby hospital, but it was too late — doctors pronounced him dead.

Floyd didn't appear to have died from coronavirus complication, authorities said.

The news prompted swift condemnation. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez on Thursday attended a vigil and march with Floyd's family and, with her fellow Rep. Jerry Nadler, instructed officials to preserve video recordings, guard logs, medical records and other evidence.

There must be accountability, she said.

"We believe it is necessary to obtain a full collection of the facts regarding Mr. Floyd's untimely death in federal custody," they wrote in a letter to the Office of the Inspector General. "As you know, MDC Brooklyn is a facility that has previously drawn scrutiny by your agency given the egregious impacts of previous incidents to federal detainees and staff."

The federal facility in Sunset Park has indeed drawn scrutiny. A judge once described its conditions as "third world," without windows, fresh air, sunlight and cramped quarters for more than 160 women inmates.