Death of man in Milwaukee police custody ruled homicide
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office has changed its ruling in the case of a man who died in Milwaukee police custody last year from natural to homicide.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the decision came after the newspaper alerted an assistant medical examiner to newly released records — including a video of a suffocating Derek Williams pleading for help from the back of a squad car. The newspaper also made him aware of a national expert who said the 22-year-old did not die naturally of sickle cell crisis.
District Attorney John Chisholm is reopening his investigation into whether criminal charges are warranted against any officers.
Chisholm and other authorities previously cleared the officers of wrongdoing, largely based on the medical examiner’s earlier ruling of natural death.
——— Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com
