BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – The NAACP is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to open a probe into the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and its management of county jails where 21 people have recently died while in custody, according to the civil rights agency.
Authorities have confirmed that four of those deaths have come within the last month.
On Tuesday, two more families spoke with Local 10 News about their recent losses as they continue to search for answers.
“He was proud. He was a proud dad,” said Christina Kirk. “We have all been sleepless (and) we have all just shed tears and screams.”
It’s been just over a week since Christina Kirk’s brother, Joseph Kirk, 34, died while he was an inmate at the Broward County Main Jail.
“Sometime very shortly after being introduced to the jail, he (Joseph Kirk) was found to be unconscious and transported over to the hospital and subsequently expired,” Broward’s Public Defender Gordon Weekes told Local 10 News last week.
Joseph Kirk was arrested two weeks ago on a misdemeanor charge after deputies said he resisted arrest without violence.
While at the jail, he was going through a detox process moments before he was pronounced dead. Weekes says his death may have been due to improper detox protocols or an overdose.
“I do know that at 2:30 a.m. on Monday, they said my brother walked out of that cell, got breakfast, took his meds, whatever they were, and came back in. By 8 a.m., my brother was gone,” said Christina Kirk. “What happened in that timespan?”
“I want justice for my brother, I want justice for my family, and I want answers for all of us,” she added.
The Moberg’s, similar to the Kirk family, are also waiting on toxicology reports to find out their loved one’s cause of death.
Authorities said Corbin Moberg, 25, who was incarcerated on felony drug charges, was found unresponsive in his cell and died on Jan. 2nd. His father, Robert Moberg, remains heartbroken.
“Just really hard to believe and it kind of seems like a nightmare,” said Robert Moberg. “I’m kind of hoping to get a call that he’s going to come back home.”
“If we are going to put people in jail and hold them here, we have a responsibility that they are going to be taken care of,” said attorney Jim Lewis, who represents the Moberg family.
In light of these deaths, the NAACP has asked the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into Broward County jails.
NAACP President/CEO Derrick Johnson wrote a letter to the Department of Justice, which stated in part:
“The investigation should determine if further federal oversight is necessary to protect incarcerated individuals’ constitutional right to adequate medical treatment.”
During an interview with WLRN last Friday, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said every time an inmate dies, an internal investigation is launched.
“Every single investigation is conducted thoroughly and in the last five years that I have been here, I’ve had to terminate 75 employees for misconduct which is the most in the history of this agency, so we are accountable, we are transparent,” said Tony.
The NAACP will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday to discuss the four inmate deaths.
Meanwhile, the Kirk family also will be burying Joseph Kirk this weekend.
They have set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses and to help provide for his young son. Click here for more information.