Thread by @ByMikeBaker

In the wake of George Floyd, we have been looking at other in-custody deaths where people declared “I can’t breathe.”

Initially, we found a half-dozen others.

Then deeper research got us to 15. Then 30.

We’ve now found 70 cases over the past decade.

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Most of the 70 people who died after saying “I can’t breathe” were black. Most had been stopped or held over nonviolent infractions, suspicious behavior, or mental health concerns.

The dead ranged in age from 19 to 65.

In reviewing videos and documents, we discovered a deep history among law enforcement officers who have repeated a dubious retort to dismiss breathing concerns:

“If you can talk, you can breathe.”

For some officers, it was part of their training.

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Even after one person died in an Ohio jail after saying “I can’t breathe,” someone put a poster on a bulletin board at the facility.

“If you can talk then you obviously can fucking breathe,” the poster said.

Officers sometimes used hogties, even though that method is widely considered dangerous. Some used spit hoods to cover the mouths of suspects.

A spit hood was used in the Manuel Ellis case earlier this year.
nytimes.com/2020/06/05/us/…

Government investigations often determined that the detainees were acting erratically or aggressively and that the officers were therefore justified in their actions.

Even after one of those cases, police in Las Vegas talked about efforts to reform

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

If you are up for it, I hope you can spend time with the details, transcripts + videos in the article

Among the people who made the piece happen: @jenvalentino, @mannyNYT, @laforgia_, @FrancesRobles, @kimmurphy, @ClintonCargill, @iamrumz, @tiefenthaeler, @Stevmanny, @sheelaghnyc