By Richard Cowen
nj.com
PATERSON, N.J. 鈥� Jumilyha Lowery hasn鈥檛 stopped counting the days since her brother, Jameek, stumbled into Paterson police headquarters, screaming that someone was trying to kill him.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been five years, three months and five days,鈥� Jumilyha said recently of the morning of Jan. 5, 2019, when Jameek burst into the police station high on drugs and in the throes of an emotional breakdown. 鈥淣ot a day goes by that I don鈥檛 count,鈥� she said.
Earlier that morning, Jameek went to St. Joseph鈥檚 Hospital to seek help, according to a lawsuit filed by his family. But he was quickly discharged after he became agitated and scuffled with security.
He later arrived 鈥� barefoot 鈥� at the police station, where he did ain which he screamed that the police were going to kill him. Afterward, police accompanied him in an ambulance to the hospital, attempting to restrain him as he thrashed about, the lawsuit claims. Upon arrival, he had sustained bruises to his face and was in cardiac arrest. Two days later, he died, sparking angry protests.
The autopsy conducted by the State Medical Examiner attributed the cause of death to 鈥渃ardiac arrest 鈥渄uring active psychosis while under the influence of Acute N-Ethyl Pentylone,鈥� a street drug known as bath salts. The Passaic County Prosecutor鈥檚 Office later cleared police and medics of using excessive force.
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But the results of a recently publicized independent autopsy run counter to The independent autopsy, conducted by noted forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden at the behest of Lowery鈥檚 family, suggests that Jameek was killed.
Lowery was the victim of 鈥渂lunt force trauma鈥� to the 鈥渇ace, jaw, arms and chest,鈥� according to the Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the Baden report and published a story on March 29. The report said Baden concluded that Jameek鈥檚 death was a homicide.
The Prosecutor鈥檚 office is standing by its initial report.
[RELATED: Do fire/EMS personnel have a duty to intervene when excessive force is used?]
Baden, a longtime consultant and a former medical examiner for New York City has conducted numerous independent autopsies in high-profile cases. In recent years, he鈥檚 offered opinions on the deaths of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 sparked nationwide riots and protests, and Michael Brown, the unarmed Black teenager who was fatally shot in 2014 by police in Ferguson, Missouri.
The Lowery family hired Baden in 2019 as it prepared to sue for wrongful death.
In his report on Lowery, Baden wrote that he found evidence of 鈥渃ompressive choking,鈥�
鈥淔urther, while the county prosecutor had said publicly that Lowery had no broken bones, Baden wrote that X-rays taken before the state autopsy revealed 鈥榤ultiple fresh traumatic fractures鈥� of the fingers on Lowery鈥檚 left hand,鈥� the AP said. Baden concluded that Lowery鈥檚 death was a 鈥渉omicide,鈥� and not an accident, as the Passaic County Prosecutor鈥檚 Office has maintained.
Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes did not respond to phone messages and an email request for comment.
But in an Aug. 12, 2019 statement in which she made public the findings of the state medical examiner鈥檚 autopsy, Valdes said the police use of force was 鈥渦nrelated鈥� to Lowery鈥檚 death.
鈥淭he Medical Examiner determined that the ingestion of the bath salts by Mr. Lowery coupled with pre-existing medical conditions triggered an adverse reaction including multiple organ failures and cardiac arrest that ultimately led to his death,鈥� Valdes wrote. 鈥淭his reaction was occurring during the police and medical personnel鈥檚 interaction with Mr. Lowery and was independent and unrelated to any force utilized.鈥�
Standing Orders With Dr. Tan: 鈥楤ath Salts鈥� Ingestion:
Valdes wrote there was no evidence that the first responders caused Lowery鈥檚 death. She said the prosecutor鈥檚 office consulted with the state Attorney General鈥檚 Office but determined that the officer鈥檚 actions did not violate state use-of-force guidelines.
鈥淭he overall investigation did not reveal any evidence of correlation between the actions of the responding officers or firefighters, including any force used by the officers, and Mr. Lowery鈥檚 death,鈥� she said in the 2019 statement.
on the Baden autopsy is a walkup to a PBS /Frontline documentary about the often-deadly consequences of police restraint scheduled to air nationally on public television stations on April 30.
The documentary concludes that Black people make up roughly 12% of the population but were victims in one-third of the fatal encounters with police. The Lowery case is featured prominently in the documentary.
seeking to root out corruption and restore public confidence amid numerous complaints of police brutality and wrongful deaths. In January, the department announced that a course that teaches officers how to de-escalate a situation rather than use force to resolve it.
The AG鈥檚 office declined to comment on the findings in the Baden report.
Lowery died just weeks before a change in state law took police-involved death investigations out of the hands of county prosecutors, requiring instead that the Attorney General鈥檚 Office conduct them. His death prompted protesters to storm Paterson鈥檚 City Hall, angry about the death of another Black man in police custody and skeptical that the prosecutor鈥檚 office would conduct a fair and impartial investigation. Some activists still want the Department of Justice to reopen the investigation into Jameek鈥檚 death.
鈥淎ll this does for us is increase the need for the Department of Justice to come in and take a look at this case,鈥� said Zellie Thomas, the Paterson organizer for Black Lives Matter. 鈥淵ou look at Jameek鈥檚 face when he鈥檚 doing his Facebook Live in the police station, and there are no bruises. Then he gets to the hospital, he鈥檚 in cardiac arrest, and there are bruises all over his face.鈥�
As a matter of policy, the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office does not confirm if an investigation is underway. But a spokesman said it is watching the Lowery case.
鈥淲hile we cannot comment on whether the [ U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office] is investigating a specific matter, the office is committed to obtaining and reviewing all relevant evidence regarding potential federal civil rights crimes,鈥� said Matthew Reilly, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in Newark.
The Lowery family hired Baden days after Jameek鈥檚 death to conduct an independent autopsy. In July 2020, , accusing the hospital of medical negligence and Paterson police officers of using excessive force.
[RELATED: Preventing in-custody deaths]
The lawsuit names Paterson police officers Michael Avila, Kyle Mucio Lucero and Kyle Wanamaker, St. Joseph鈥檚 University Medical Center and the City of Paterson. St. Joseph鈥檚 has since settled, according to an attorney assigned to the case.
The attorneys for Avila and Wanamaker declined to comment.
But Lucero鈥檚 attorney, Joel M. Miklacki, stood by prosecutors鈥� findings and the state medical examiner鈥檚 report.
鈥淭his matter was independently investigated by the Passaic County Prosecutor鈥檚 Office, and they spoke to dozens of witnesses and reviewed hours of videotapes,鈥� Miklacki said. 鈥淭hey generated a report of over 250 pages. They independently came to the conclusion that the officers did nothing wrong.鈥�
The case appears to be headed for trial and U.S. District Court Judge Andre S. Espinosa has set a May 30 deadline for attorneys to complete depositions of expert witnesses.
Jumilyha Lowery said the Associated Press report wasn鈥檛 news to her. She said Baden read the results during a teleconference call with her, her mother and aunt five years ago.
鈥淗e said it was a homicide in his eyes,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e said my brother died in the back of the ambulance. My brother had no pulse when he arrived at the hospital.鈥�
Jumilyha said she made a promise after he brother鈥檚 death to seek justice.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about the money,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want justice to be served.鈥�
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