Thread by @UR_Ninja

“I personally think he was too good for this Earth” said Justine Crook, who celebrates her 30th birthday today but for the first time without her twin brother, Justin, who was one of at least 10 people who died last year in Pima County Jail.

Full story: unicornriot.ninja/2021/the-death…

In late May 2021, Justin Crook (J-Mac Tha Coldest) had a seizure in a Lyft on his way home from work. The Lyft driver called 911. Tucson police arrived & beat, tased, & arrested Crook. Less than 24 hours later, he was found dead in a Pima County Jail cell. unicornriot.ninja/2021/the-death…

10 people died in Pima County Jail in 2021—more than in any single year in at least the last decade, acc. to info released by the Pima Co. Sheriff’s Dept & a @Reuters investigation. Families have come together in support & to push back on the violence inflicted on their families.

After his death in jail, Justin Crook's mother, Jennifer Graham, said Pima County Jail officials and the sheriff “acted like it was my fault that my son was dead.”

She's since filed a $10 million medical neglect claim against the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

In Tucson, Arizona on November 27 & December 31, 2021 groups of dozens of family members and their supporters gathered in front of the Pima County Adult Detention Complex to hold vigils in memory of their loved ones and to demand change.

Full story: unicornriot.ninja/2021/the-death…

As is the case with most people who die within this country’s sprawling apparatus of jails, prisons & detention centers, the details of Crook’s death remain opaque-the role of government agents in his death obscured behind legalistic & bureaucratic jargon. unicornriot.ninja/2021/the-death…

The autopsy report in Crook’s case found evidence of numerous “blunt force injuries” that substantiate Crook’s statements to medical staff about having been beaten by TPD officers during his arrest. Details of his arrest are uncertain and TPD refused to release information.

Justin Crook’s family members report that when he had seizures, he would come out of them disoriented and upset, a situation that could contribute to a dangerous encounter with the police if they respond, as they so often do, with aggression rather than medical care.

The medical examiner’s autopsy & toxicology reports state Crook’s body contained many times the average single dose of methamphetamines - According to the findings, Crook consumed enough meth for the medical examiner to rule that he died of “acute methamphetamine intoxication.”

The Pima County Medical Examiner ruled Crook’s death an accident. His mother doesn’t accept that explanation: “How do you overdose from methamphetamine intoxication when he was on their property for 30 hours? That makes no sense.” She doesn’t think the jail’s story adds up.

Nearly a year before Justin Crook died in Pima County Jail, he punched a guard and was subsequently beaten. This is video of Crook punching the guard and the guards reactions. The video also features Crook's interview with a deputy after the incident. vimeo.com/658911301

[CW: Violence] Justin Crook's mother believes that her son’s death in Pima County Jail in 2021 may be related to Crook being beaten in the jail in 2020 after he punched a guard in the face.

“They ended up beating the crap out of my son...Put him in the hospital” said Crook's mom

Crook punched the guard because he disrespected his friend Anthony Garrett [pic] who was killed by security guards in '19.

Crook said to a deputy: “I miss my friend. I’m not gonna be cool with nobody disrespecting his presence. I’m willing to die for that. OK? So I almost did.”

As a result of the altercation at the jail, Crook was charged w/ “Aggravated Assault on a Corrections Employee,” a class 5 felony.

In December 2020, Crook pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of “Attempt to Commit Aggravated Assault on a Corrections Employee,” a class 6 felony.

“He could just sit there all day & read a book,” said Justine Crook, Justin's twin sister. “He was the smartest person I’ve ever known.”

“I feel like God took him because he was way too good to walk this Earth.”

Justin Crook would have turned 30 today.

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1481046060843905036