The family and friends of a Black man who died in the back of a Faribault, Minn., police officer's car on the way to jail gathered Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis to demand officials release police footage of the incident.
Kenya Skelton, the sister of 36-year-old Jerrell Skelton, said she wants the footage released immediately to show what happened prior to her brother's death earlier this monthafter a traffic stop.
"I need to give his kids answers," Kenya Skelton said. "I need us to have solace, because otherwise there is no moving on."
About 20 people attended a news conference at the Hennepin County Government Center. Some held signs reading "gone too soon."
A Faribault police officer stopped Jerrell Skelton on suspicion of impaired driving just before midnight Sept. 2, the department said in a news release.
After officers stopped him, Skelton was taken into custody and an ambulance team cleared him to be taken to jail following a medical evaluation, the department said. On the way to the Rice County jail, Skelton lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead at a hospital despite efforts to save him.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating, has not released a cause of death. The BCA in a news release last week noted Skelton had "no apparent injuries."
Officer body cameras and dash cameras captured the incident, the release said.
