Thread by @nytimes

NYT Investigation: They died in police custody — at least 47 Black people in the past 25 years; 15 since 2015.

When blame was put on sickle cell trait, a condition mostly found in Black people that is almost always benign, it often ended further scrutiny.
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These are the cases we found in which the sickle cell trait was cited as a cause or major factor in the deaths.

In roughly two-thirds, the person who died had been forcefully restrained by the authorities, pepper-sprayed or shocked with stun guns. nyti.ms/3eMEBYE

What we found:
▪️ 19 deaths involved restraints that could hinder breathing.
▪️ 5 were initially ruled homicides.
▪️ 21 involved stun guns or pepper spray.
▪️ 2 involved bites from police dogs.
▪️ The rest were labeled undetermined, accidental or natural. nyti.ms/3eMEBYE

The sickle cell trait factored into the case of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.

Last August, Chauvin's lawyers invoked the trait, calling it one factor in Floyd's death in an unsuccessful motion to dismiss the case against him.

But the vast majority of cases we analyzed did not end in a conviction.

Instead, in across 22 states and Puerto Rico, in big cities and small towns, the determinations on sickle cell trait often created enough doubt for officers to avert criminal or civil penalties.

Lamont Perry, 32, was one case.

Accused of violating probation, he was chased in the dark by officers to a stand of trees, where only they could see what happened next. He ended up with swelling of the brain. A forensic investigator said he had an open fracture of his right leg.

Jason Pierce, 40, was another.

He was held for days in 2017 at a Louisiana jail where guards would later be accused of smuggling drugs. Instead of focusing on drugs, the coroner’s office ruled that he had died a natural death caused by “widespread red blood cell sickling.”

A handcuffed Dean Smith, 25, told the police that he could not breathe after a foot chase in Evansville, Indiana, last year.

An officer standing over him said, “Boy, you are being overly dramatic,” according to body camera footage. The coroner ruled his death an accident.

The cases we analyzed follow a pattern in which the trait is listed with other conditions, like high blood pressure or drug use, to create doubt about the role of law enforcement, said Simon Dyson, a British researcher who studies sickle cell conditions and deaths in custody.

Dr. James R. Gill, Connecticut's chief medical examiner and president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, said that pathologists would not be doing a thorough job if they identified sickle cell trait and failed to mention it in their reports.

In many cases, the deaths received little attention at the time. From California to Pennsylvania, officials cited the rulings in closing investigations into the deaths, ensuring that police agencies provided the last word.

Read our full story: nyti.ms/3eMEBYE