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Alabama man's death is ruled a homicide after police kneeled on his neck

Alabama man's death is ruled a homicide after police kneeled on his neck

Independent5 days ago
The death of an unarmed 52-year-old man who died after an Alabama police officer kneeled on his neck was ruled a homicide by a county coroner, according to an official autopsy reviewed by The Associated Press. The finding led lawyers representing Phillip Reeder's family on Monday to compare his death to that of George Floyd in 2020.
The report issued by the Jefferson County medical examiner's office concludes Reeder, of Irondale, Alabama, died last August of heart failure "associated with cocaine use and restraint during altercation."
Officers in the Alabama suburb 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Birmingham were dispatched to a local highway just after 5 a.m. on August 6, 2024, after one of Reeder's colleagues called 911 to report a medical emergency, according to Reeder's wife, Sandra Lee Reeder. Phillip Reeder, who owned a construction company, was driving home from a job in Memphis, Tennessee, she said.
At the time, police said Reeder was wandering in and out of traffic when they approached him, according to AL.com.
Body camera video of Reeder's death has not been released publicly, but Sandra Lee Reeder and her attorneys said they reviewed it last week. A 2023 state law that governs release of police recordings says the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency may choose to not disclose the recording if it would affect an active law enforcement investigation.
An email seeking comment from the Irondale police chief was sent Monday morning.
Sandra Lee Reeder said that the body camera footage shows her husband running from police when they arrived. Police then shocked Reeder with a Taser, placed him in handcuffs and laid him on his stomach, she said. One officer put his knee on Reeder's neck for over three minutes, she said.
Sandra Lee Reeder said her husband can be heard saying 'I can't breathe' three times.
The autopsy said Reed had multiple non-leathal wounds and bruising from the attempted arrest by the police. Sandra Lee Reeder said she could see he was bleeding from his face in the video.
Reeder was unresponsive when the officer rolled him over onto his back, according to the coroner's report. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital just after 6:30 a.m.
Harry Daniels, an attorney for the Reeder family, compared the fatality to the death of George Floyd in 2020, which prompted months of protests and widespread scrutiny over police tactics.
'This world was captivated and shocked about what happened in 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2024, the exact same thing happened,' Daniels said at a news conference outside Irondale City Hall on Monday.
Daniels said that the only difference between what happened to Reeder and Floyd is race: Reeder was white and Floyd was Black. Reeder may have committed misdemeanor disorderly conduct by wandering into traffic, but 'it is not warranted for a knee in the back — that is deadly force,' he said.
Reeder's two sons said that they also reviewed the body camera video of their father's last moments this month after almost a year of asking the local police department and state agency for more information.
'What I have gone through these past 11 months should not happen to any 19-year-old,' Zachariah Phillip Reeder said.
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'My son was in crisis - he needed help, not police restraint'
'My son was in crisis - he needed help, not police restraint'

BBC News

time2 hours ago

  • BBC News

'My son was in crisis - he needed help, not police restraint'

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Horrifying move eye doctor made hours after 'shooting dead' Spirit flight attendant outside Palm Beach home
Horrifying move eye doctor made hours after 'shooting dead' Spirit flight attendant outside Palm Beach home

Daily Mail​

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Horrifying move eye doctor made hours after 'shooting dead' Spirit flight attendant outside Palm Beach home

A Florida eye doctor accused of brutally murdering his ex-wife, a Spirit Airlines flight attendant, outside her Palm Beach condo allegedly carried out a shocking act after the killing. Richard Seith, an ophthalmologist from Jensen Beach, is facing a first degree murder charge for what detectives have described as a cold-blooded and calculated ambush. On July 15, Seith, 53, allegedly shot his ex-wife Cynthia Sciarrone (Seith), 55, upon her return from a late night shift as a flight attendant. The Spirit flight attendant, also known as Cindi, was discovered face-down on the sidewalk 75 feet from her Lake Worth gated community condo by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Engine 32 at 3:22am. According to arrest records obtained by Daily Mail, Sciarrone had a gunshot wound to her head. She was pronounced dead at 3:26am. Detectives received an anonymous tip later on July 15 indicating that Seith was responsible. The tip claimed 'the victim was believed to be scared of the suspect and had disclosed this information before the victim's death'. Upon further investigation, detectives discovered that Sciarrone and Seith had divorced just months earlier, on May 5, 2025, and that her ex-husband owed her $285,000. Dashcam footage found in Cynthia's Subaru showed a shadowy figure - now believed to be Seith - bending near the rear hatch of her car, and investigators think he was retrieving a GPS tracking device that had been attached to her vehicle. On July 15, Richard Seith, 53, allegedly shot his ex-wife Cynthia Sciarrone (pictured), 55, upon her return from a late night shift as a flight attendant This discovery led to a mountain of evidence insinuating that Seith had been relentlessly stalking his ex-wife in the months before her death. In Seith's home, detectives found (along with multiple firearms, ammunition and a silencer) a Cube GPS tracker. Seith purchased the device in May and made the chilling move to cancel its subscription just 3.5 hours after Cynthia's murder, records show. Seith's distinctive orange Jeep Wrangler was also spotted repeatedly by neighborhood surveillance cameras near Sciarrone's home before and after the shooting, though he denied being in Palm Beach County and claimed he hadn't seen Cynthia since December 2024. Seith is also accused of stalking his ex-wife by friends of Sciarrone and witnesses mentioned in the arrest record. One witness, a previous ex of Seith, described the doctor's 'emotional and psychologically abusive behavior' toward Sciarrone. These accusations included sexual coercion, in which Seith would demand that Sciarrone 'swing' with other sexual partners - which she was not comfortable doing, according to the witness. According to the arrest affidavit, Sciarrone 'was promised by Richard Seith that he'd pay for medically necessary dental care in exchange for agreeing to these intimate relations'. The same witness had previously been granted their own petition for injunction for protection against stalking in regards to their relationship to the Seiths. The witness also shed light on why the Seiths relationship came to an end, saying Sciarrone 'realized that she could not stay in the abusive relationship'. Sciarrone then trained to be a flight attendant to become financially independent, having previously worked at Seith's medical practice, the witness stated. While she was away for training, Seith allegedly confided in Sciarrone that 'he could not drink alcohol when home alone because his mind went to "dark place" imagining what she was doing when away from him.' Seith also previously admitted to his then-wife that he had stalked a former girlfriend using a fake Facebook profile, according to the affidavit. The same ex-girlfriend later contacted Sciarrone to tell her Seith had recently re-contacted her and that the flight attendant should 'run run run' from him. Earlier this week bodycam footage was released that captured the moment Seith had complained about their four-way relationship with another couple. Seith was seen in the footage from July 2024 being stopped by deputies responding to reports of shots fired at a home. The home belonged to a couple, who have not been identified, that Seith and his ex-wife Sciarrone had been in an 'intimate relationship' with, investigators said. Sciarrone trained to be a flight attendant to become financially independent, having previously worked at Seith's medical practice Deputies arrived at the home to find a bullet shattered a window and another pierced a child's bedroom wall. A deputy spotted Seith driving nearby and was heard in the bodycam saying he was 'exactly who I am looking for'. Seith denied firing the bullets but admitted he was cruising outside the couple's home, looking for his wife. 'I look to see if she's here. We're still married, and I don't approve of it,' he told the deputy in the bodycam footage. Despite the bullet holes in the couple's home, deputies were unable to link the bullets to Seith's gun and they let him go from the traffic stop. 'Unfortunately, our deputies didn't have enough to arrest Mr. Seith, and had to give him his gun back,' Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said during a news conference on Tuesday. Sciarrone's friends told WPBF25 News that she had feared her ex-husband for months, and believed he was dangerous. 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Boy, 3, dies after being left in a hot car for 5 hours by child services on his way back to foster care
Boy, 3, dies after being left in a hot car for 5 hours by child services on his way back to foster care

The Independent

time16 hours ago

  • The Independent

Boy, 3, dies after being left in a hot car for 5 hours by child services on his way back to foster care

A 3-year-old boy who was in the care of a contractor for Alabama 's human resources department died on Tuesday after a transport driver left him alone in a hot car for around five hours. The child was identified by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office as Ketorrius "KJ" Starks Jr, of Bessemer, according to The vehicle was left in the driveway of a home with the windows rolled up. Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said the boy had been left in the car from 12.30 p.m. until around 5.30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 6.03 p.m. Temperatures were in the mid-to-high 90s on Tuesday afternoon in the area, but with humidity factored in, it would have felt as high as 103 degrees at 1 p.m. and 100 degrees by 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. According to the boy's aunt, Brittney Debruce, the boy was in the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources and was living at a foster home. When the foster parent went to pick the boy up from daycare, he was not there. According to Debruce, a transport driver — who was as a contractor for the DHR driving children to visitations — picked the boy up and took him to a DHR office in Bessmer for a scheduled visit with his father. After the visit, Ketorrius was never brought back to the day care. Debruce and the Birmingham police eventually found the child inside the car. The boy's mother was then notified that her son had died, leaving the family distraught. "We don't know what's going on," Debruce told The DHR provided a statement to about the incident. 'A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred. The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances," the agency said. Birmingham police are investigating the child's death. The company that picked up Ketorrius is called The Covenant Services. According to the Debruce family attorney, Courtney French, after the driver took Ketorrius from his visit with his father, the worker stopped to grocery shop and to buy tobacco. The worker then returned home and left the boy in the car. The Independent has requested comment from The Covenant Services. 'This is a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy.' French told the outlet. She estimated that with the heat index the day of the incident hitting 108 degrees Farhenheit, the temperature inside the car was likely around 150 degrees. Ketorrius's parents issued a statement, calling the situation their "worst nightmare." "Our baby should be alive," the parents said.

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