Black Candles - Snuffed Out

It may be a leap year, but it doesn't take much of a leap to see that something is going wrong at the Erie County Holding Center.

What we know about the last days of India Cummings:

After being arrested and jailed on February 1^st for assault and erratic behavior, she was found dead in her jail cell on February 26^th.

According to those that knew her best – family and friends – she was a calm person who was “freaking out” in public – evidently after using K2 ,a synthetic form of marijuana.

She was living in Lackawana and, after (supposedly) using the K2 was freaking out, knocking on people's doors, trying to get a ride back to Rochester where she had family who could have helped her. According to the Buffalo News, she prayed with some people and eventually assaulted a driver of a car, dragged them out of the car, and then went on a car chase with police officers before crashing and being apprehended.

In court her mother said that she could see that something was “wrong.” (Why was she not treated then?)

Then all the problems at the Erie County Center started. She was denied treatment at the Holding Center when she was argumentative with medical staff. When being returned to her jail cell she ko'd an officer, leaving him with a concussion.

On February 4^th she was taken to Erie County Medical Center for a possible broken bone (how did this happen?) and was argumentative and combative with officers again. More charges.

Between the 4^th and the 16^th all detail get fuzzy and no one knows really what happened.

She could (more likely should) have been placed in the care of the unit for mentally ill or emotionally disturbed inmates, but wasn't. Clearly something was wrong with her. Nobody acted on the information.

To boot – when family tried to visit her, they were told that she was not receiving visitors. No reason is given as to why she (or someone else) made that decision.

On (?) February 17^th she went into cardiac arrest after banging her head against a wall repeatedly. She went into cardiac arrest and died soon afterwards.

An autopsy was done, however the results have not been made public.

What we know about the Erie County Holding Center:

1. It is under Federal Investigation for numerous similar events happening over the years.

2. Erie County has paid out who knows how much in wrongful death and injury lawsuits over the years because of “events” that have happened in the Center.

3. CYA seems to be the order of the day.

What we demand:

1. A full open investigation into what happened to India Cummings in her final days. Are there video surveillance tapes or recordings? These need to be made available. What about inmate interviews? They need to be made truthfully without fear of repercussion of any sort.

2. Better assessment of people being brought in for incarceration. Those acting the way India was should be psychologically evaluated and given medical treatment to help them. India was (evidently) denied this evaluation.

3. Charges against those who failed to provide India with the medical care she needed when she was arrested.

Change India's Cummings race from black to white and her income status (Class) and she would have been treated differently.  Much differently.

Instead, as a black female, she was treated ... mistreated.

Now India isn't coming home.

She's gone to the grave.

Another victim of Holding Center incompetence.

#BlackLivesMatter!

Update: The Buffalo News is reporting that they believe India Cummings may have been high on K2 – synthetic marijuana. Today's article (March 13, 2016) does go over the dangers of using K2 and why police suspect that it may have been what led to her erratic behaviour, arrest,  and death.

Opinion: This is just a cover for the police's poor treatment of India. Given her behaviour, they should have worked with doctors to get her sedated and “off” of whatever drug she was on so that she could have been given a fair hearing at court.

If India was a white woman, middle class or better, would her treatment by the police have changed?

A little humanity and compassion please and less mental masturbation by the 1% press please.

The same goes for the police.

#BlackLIvesMatter

Update: There will be an action protesting the death (passive murder?) of India Cummings on Friday March 18th at 3:45 PM at the Erie County Holding Center.

#SayHerName and never let them forget that WE REMEMBER!