The disturbing details shed new light on Raynette Turner’s final moments before she was discovered unresponsive at Mount Vernon police headquarters Monday afternoon.
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New York’s new special prosecutor for police-involved deaths-the first of his kind in the country-has his first case.
Raynette Turner was taken to the hospital on Sunday night for two hours, but reports indicate that police felt she didn’t need further treatment. She had been returned to a police-controlled holding cell after throwing up in a court holding area July 27.
The death has evoked comparisons to the death in Texas of a jailed woman last month, which has drawn national attention.
“She was brought upstairs to a holding cell for arraignment and got sick and was taken back downstairs”, he said. The DAs have been peeved about Schneiderman’s directions to them regarding such cases and rhetoric about perceived conflicts of interest in prosecuting law enforcement officials they work closely with.
Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, as well as several other black mothers who lost children in encounters with the New York City Police Department, lobbied Cuomo to create the special prosecutor’s office. She was pronounced dead a short time later.
“Every effort will be put forth by this administration to make sure that Mrs. Turner’s death is investigated in a manner that is comprehensive and thorough”, Mayor Ernie Davis said in a statement.
“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”, said Governor Cuomo. Her husband, Herman Turner, had even showed up to her July 27th arraignment, only to be told she would not be appearing before a judge because she wasn’t feeling well.
Turner was taken into custody on Saturday, July 25 on charges of shoplifting from a local grocery store.
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With no judges working on Sundays to arraign her in court on the misdemeanor charge, police officers opted to keep Turner in custody through the weekend.
