Protesters rally at California jail after
deputies arrested
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[September 05, 2015]
By Curtis Skinner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Several dozen
protesters gathered on Friday outside the California jail where three
correctional deputies were accused of beating to death a mentally ill
inmate last week, according to news reports and images on social media.
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Corrections deputies Matthew Farris, Jereh Lubrin and Rafael
Rodriguez were arrested early on Thursday morning and face murder,
assault and conspiracy charges in the killing of Michael James
Tyree, 31. They were being held without bail on Friday.
About 50 protesters assembled in front of the Santa Clara County
main jail holding signs that said "murder in uniform" and "stop
guard abuse," according to photographs posted online and the San
Jose Mercury News.
The arrests followed a series of high-profile police killings and
in-custody deaths across the country that have put law enforcement
agencies under increased scrutiny over their use of force.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said Tyree was in a
protective custody wing of the county's main jail on the night of
Aug. 26 after being arrested on misdemeanor drug possession and
theft charges.
The three deputies were conducting a clothing search on the wing
before entering Tyree's single-person cell, where they stayed for 20
minutes, Smith told reporters on Thursday.
She said no one else had any contact with the victim before Lubrin
returned to discover his naked body, covered in feces and vomit,
about an hour later.
The county's medical examiner-coroner determined that Tyree died of
internal bleeding due to multiple blunt force injuries.
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Paula Canny, an attorney for the victim's family, said Tyree
suffered from mental illness and was being housed in the jail
because there was no space at a mental health facility.
Inmates at the jail told the San Jose Mercury News they heard Tyree
screaming in pain and pleading with the guards to stop before he
fell silent.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Bill
Trott)
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