Palmetto family rallies, calls for answers from police in death of son last November
PALMETTO — A group of about 50 demonstrators, family, and community members rallied in protest for answers and to seek justice for Breonte Johnson-Davis, Sr., a 36-year-old Palmetto man who died during an incident with officers from the Palmetto Police Department on Nov. 1, 2023.
Davis' parents, Manatee County residents Tracey Washington and Willie Davis, have called for answers from the law enforcement agency for the past two months, they said during a press conference Sunday. The family says the department has been unwilling to provide an official police report or any related details on the death of their son.
According to Washington, her son was involved in a mental health episode when Palmetto police arrived at a Circle K convenience store on 8th Street West, less than a mile from the Palmetto police station.
Washington said the Palmetto Police have confirmed that an incident took place on Nov. 1 and provided an incident report with little information beyond a date. She said she also was told that a taser was used by police, but no information was included in the report Washington obtained from the agency.
Officials at the Palmetto Police Department responded to the Herald-Tribune's request for the police report involving Johnson-Davis stating the incident is an active investigation and records could not be released.
Palmetto Police Captain Mike Stinson spoke briefly via telephone Monday afternoon confirming the death of Johnson-Davis, Sr. on Nov. 1 to the Herald. Stinson stated that the investigation is ongoing and active with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
"After the incident occurred, because there was a death involved, we immediately contacted FDLE. It's an ongoing investigation we are not releasing any body camera footage, reports, or any of that. We are hoping the report should be done within the week," Stinson said.
Palmetto Police officials expect the state attorney's office to review the findings of the FDLE report before the release will be made public Stinson added.
"Breonte, my son, was going through a paranoia episode and needed medical attention ... Instead of facilitating the medical help he needed they tased him and punched him sending him into cardiac arrest," Washington said. "Ever since, the Palmetto Police Department has given my family zero answers."
Washington and other family members contend that the agency has yet to provide an official police report that could shed light on what happened before Davis' death.
"This is unbearable, this pain ... I didn't find out anything from the police. Manatee Memorial Hospital called me at 7:43 (a.m.), it happened at 2 in the morning," Washington said in an interview following the press conference. "I didn't find out my child was there for hours and the only thing I was told on the phone was that he was on life support."
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Parents, community seek answers in death of Palmetto man
