Demonstrators packed the lobby of Inglewood City Hall after a tense City Council meeting on Tuesday, chanting the name of Bryan Bostic, the 37-year-old Compton man who died March 10 in Inglewood police custody.
The crowd of a few dozen family members and activists stared across a broad security desk to a cluster of Inglewood police officers and city staff who stood watching 15 yards away.
Bostic’s family has pushed hard on social media and with protests in the last two weeks for more information on his death. Police, they say, have told them too little about how he died.
City officials released little information on Bostic’s death until Sunday, when Mayor James Butts said in a statement that police arrested him after “a brief struggle with officers” and that he appeared to have stopped breathing by the time he arrived at the city jail.
LA County Fire Department paramedics were called twice to examine Bostic before he was declared dead, Butts said, once at the site of his arrest and again at the city jail.
Butts told The LA Local on Tuesday that police didn’t share information sooner because they want to make sure they have the correct details.
“The worst thing that you can do is put out information that is later proved to be inaccurate, particularly when there’s a sudden death,” he said. “Basically, right now, we don’t have any information that there was misconduct that led to his death.”
Grief and frustration bubbled over during the meeting’s public comment section as roughly a dozen people spoke about Bostic and asked for more answers from the City Council. Some made it into City Council chambers while others spilled into an overflow room.
Police removed two people from the meeting as they continued to shout.
“This is me as a community member, disgusted with your behavior,” shouted Shonique Williams, a criminal justice advocate running for U.S. Congress in California’s re-drawn 41st District. “You should be absolutely fucking ashamed.”
Black Lives Matter’s Los Angeles chapter took to social media to rally people ahead of the Tuesday council meeting, demanding that the city release any video of the events leading up to Bostic’s death and discipline any officer found responsible.
Butts said Inglewood police do not have body-worn cameras, but that the city is currently in the middle of negotiating a deal for a body-worn camera system.
BLM and other activist groups also joined the family to help organize a vigil on Sunday to mourn Bostic and protest Inglewood police’s handling of the investigation.
The LA County Medical Examiner has not declared a cause or manner for Bostic’s death, which remains under investigation. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office told The LA Local the office is investigating the Inglewood Police Department’s use of force prior to Bostic’s death.
Bostic’s family and supporters asked the city to be more proactive about releasing information on the Compton man’s death.
“His family deserves answers, not silence,” Shiniqua Green said. “What can you do today to take a step towards a solution? You can demand transparency. You can call for the release of records. You can support an independent review.”