New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Monday that his office will launch a formal investigation into the death of Raynette Turner, the mother of eight who died in a Mount Vernon, New York, jail cell while in police custody last week.
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Schneiderman said his investigation will be consistent with the state’s Executive Order No. 147 calling for a special prosecutor “to investigate and prosecute matters related to the deaths of civilians caused by law enforcement officers”.
The death of a 42-year-old Westchester County woman in police custody will be the first test of a high-profile executive order Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued last month.
Raynette Turner died in her cell after being held over the weekend after allegedly stealing crab legs from a Restaurant Depot. The night before she reported not feeling well and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Robert Wolfe, a spokesman for DiFiore, said the district attorney’s office is waiting for Cuomo to issue a “conforming order” making Schneiderman’s probe official.
Among those who asked Cuomo to empower the attorney general was the mother of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died after a videotaped police chokehold.
In July, his office was given the authority to investigate suspicious deaths across the state involving police officers. Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell in Hempstead on July 13. She was due to be arraigned the day she was found dead.
“Ms. Turner’s death is a tragedy for her loved ones, and it raises questions not just from her family, but from her neighbors, elected officials, community members and the media – questions that deserve answers”, Cuomo said.
“Mrs. Turner’s funeral will be later this week and we ask that there be a continued [show of] respect as we get through this very hard time”, Mount Vernon Mayor Ernest D. Davis said in a statement Monday promising a “comprehensive” and “thorough” investigation.
Police told the Journal News newspaper that Turner was last seen alive between noon and 1 p.m. that Monday.
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She never appeared in court.
