Family says BSO caused death of man at Ft. Lauderdale airport about 3 months ago
Nearly three months after a 29-year-old man died while in custody of Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies, his family is demanding answers.
“South Florida has its own version of an unarmed black man being killed by police officers,” said Robyn Blake, Kevon Todd’s family’s attorney. “It’s a great injustice.”
Kevon Todd’s family said the sheriff’s office has yet to explain how Todd died April 9 after an incident at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Blake held a press conference Thursday where she described the circumstances that led to Todd’s death. Blake and his family say Todd suffered from a mental illness that had not yet been diagnosed.
“My brother ... would give you the clothes off of his own back; he was kind, he was a comedian,” said Keron Fairclough, Todd’s sister. He tried many times to get help for his mental illnesses, she said.
On April 9, Todd entered Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport; to onlookers, he seemed unkempt and homeless, Blake said. Todd went through metal detectors and said he wanted to buy a ticket and board a plane, the lawyer said. This is when deputies stepped in.
At the time, BSO said Todd tried to breach the airport security checkpoint. BSO said deputies were called to Terminal 3 after a man, later identified as Todd, began yelling at Jet Blue employees.
When deputies arrived, Todd “became irrational” and ran toward the TSA checkpoint to try to board a flight, BSO said at the time.
BSO said there was a “physical struggle” but did not go into details. Blake and the family said two people who were workers at the airport were told to delete videos of the incident by sheriff deputies.
Todd became unresponsive after being taken to the front of the terminal. He died about two hours after the initial encounter with deputies. Authorities have not said what Todd’s cause of death was.
Even though it has been 84 days since the incident, Blake has not been given airport surveillance video, body camera footage or a medical examiner’s report, she said. The family said they have not received a sympathy call from the BSO or any contact from detectives working the case.
The Miami Herald on Wednesday reached out to BSO requesting documents related to Todd’s death. Thursday, the BSO responded, saying that the office refused to fill the request because of the “active internal affairs investigation.”
BSO told Blake that the agency will fulfill her records request when the investigation is completed.
