Mourning continued Friday night for Elijah Muhammad after his death on Rikers Island earlier this month.
The 31-year-old father of four died in custody on July 10 after being quarantined for 32 hours by a lawyer who said he died of a fentanyl overdose.
Muhammad’s grieving family now wants answers.
“How could his mental illness and medical care be completely ignored in a 24-hour secure facility?” said his cousin Tanisha Smith.
In addition to seeking $25 million in damages for wrongful death, they want Rikers to shut down and the remaining officers to be punished.
Sanford Rubenstein, an attorney for Elijah Muhammad’s family, said: “Prison officers involved in this wrongful death want to face criminal charges.
After Muhammad’s death, the corrections department said it had fired one police officer.
DOC issued the following statement to News 12: Some said: