Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Public Sector Gulags
The world will never know how Eric Perez died
Ursus:
NEWS CHANNEL 5 — WPTV
Video of final moments of teen who died at a West Palm Beach juvenile detention center
Posted: 07/17/2011
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc.
WEST PALM BEACH - - Authorities say there is a video of the final moments of an 18-year-old who died at a West Palm Beach juvenile detention center.
Eric Perez died last Sunday after falling ill.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Juvenile Justice says four lockup workers have been suspended and two fired.
The department's inspector general and police are investigating Perez's death.
While there is video of the incident, it may not be made public. A new law makes it illegal for agencies to release photos or recordings of a death.
Perez's mother says she was told the teen began hallucinating and vomiting. He was moved to a room where officials could watch him more closely but his condition deteriorated.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc.
Ursus:
Comment left for the above article, "Video of final moments of teen who died at a West Palm Beach juvenile detention center" (07/17/2011, News Channel 5 - WPTV):
Robert Hemlak · Last Week
Seeing is believing.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc.
Ursus:
Finally, at long last ( :D ), here's that entry from the Broward-Palm Beach New Times blog, The Daily Pulp, which was linked to by Oscar in the OP:
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The Daily Pulp
PUBLIC RECORDS
Florida's Anti-Faces of Death Law May Hide How 18-Year-Old Died in State Hands
By Matthew Hendley · Mon., Jul. 18 2011 at 8:30 AM
Categories: Public Records
cinema-suicide.com
Faces of Death: A crappy movie that makes videos of people dying very scary.
Thanks to the Florida lawmakers' successful bid to legislate morality in the state's public records law, we may never know how 18-year-old Eric Perez died in the hands of state workers.
Perez died about a week ago at a West Palm Beach juvenile detention facility, due to either breathing problems, an enlarged heart, maybe a stroke, or after becoming "ill and psychotic" -- at least those are the different stories officials have told Perez's mother, according to the Miami Herald.
His death was recorded on video, but since HB 411 was signed into effect by the governor, the media -- and subsequently, the public -- may never get to see that video.
The rationale for the law may make sense on the surface: Most people who've seen Faces of Death -- a 1980 film that's just a roughly 100-minute compilation of real and fake footage of deaths -- would think there's no legitimate reason to watch the death of another human being.
To anyone who wants to hold people and government accountable, though, death videos have proved to be important.
Consider the story -- and video -- of Martin Lee Anderson.
He was 14 years old when he died at a juvenile boot camp in Panama City in 2006, and just about everyone had seen the video of his death -- leading to the closure of all state boot camps.
But as of July 1, any photograph, video, or audio recording that depicts "all acts or events that cause or otherwise relate to the death of any human being, including any related acts or events immediately preceding or subsequent to the acts or events that were the proximate cause of death," are considered confidential and exempt from Florida's public records law.
Now it's a third-degree felony for a records custodian to release the video if it violates the new law.
The Herald has already requested the tape, and officials say they're in the process of redacting the footage in case it is exempt from the law, although they still wouldn't be able to release it while the investigation into Perez's death is ongoing.
The only other way around the law in this case would be through Perez's mother. The death videos can be released to immediate family, and they're free to do whatever they want with it. His mother has told the Herald she'd likely give the paper the tape.
Absent that, the state hasn't even said how Perez died or what he died of.
Officials wouldn't provide Perez's name until his mother came forward to reporters, and the state wouldn't give the Herald the employees' termination letters.
Follow The Pulp on Facebook and on Twitter: @ThePulpBPB.
©2011 New Times BPB, LLC.
Ursus:
Comment left for the above Broward-Palm Beach New Times blog entry, "Florida's Anti-Faces of Death Law May Hide How 18-Year-Old Died in State Hands" (by Matthew Hendley, Jul. 18 2011, The Daily Pulp):
Thefamilyshouldhavenorights · 4 days ago
Horrible! You mean that media outlets will not be able to view or publish gruesome details or pictures of these deaths without the immediate surviving familys consent?
I do believe that my right to titilation outweighs the familys right to privacy.
Consider Dale Earnheardts death...who the hell would prioritize his wife and kids desire not to see images his decapitated corpse splashed all over the media vs my and every other readers desire to see said gruesome images? Insanity!
©2011 New Times BPB, LLC.
Ursus:
Now comes the issue about the nightlong delay of the 911 call...
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abc25 - WPBF
Attorney Speaks About Teen Who Died At Juvenile Facility
Mother Of Teen Who Died In Custody Says Officials Could Have Done Something
Angela Rozier, Reporter
POSTED: 3:46 pm EDT July 18, 2011
UPDATED: 10:37 pm EDT July 18, 2011
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- An attorney representing the family of a teenager who died while in custody at a West Palm Beach juvenile detention center spoke about the incident Monday.
Eric Perez died July 10 while in custody at the Palm Beach Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
An attorney for the family said the reason Perez died was because one of the guards was not allowed to call 911 even after Perez complained of severe headaches and vomited for hours.
"The analysis here is that, unfortunately, some of the people in charge think that these young men are malingerers and fakers, but this is not one of those situations," attorney Richard Schuler said.
Perez's mother said she wasn't told how her son died.
"They could have done something to help him out," mother Maritza Perez said.
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and West Palm Beach police are investigating the death.
Since Perez's death, the juvenile justice agency has fired two employees and suspended six others.
The 18-year-old Port St. Lucie boy was buried Monday at Palm Beach Memorial Park in Lantana.
Copyright 2011 by WPBF.com.
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