PALMETTO, Fla. — A family is demanding answers from Palmetto police following the in-custody death of Breonte Johnson-Davis.
Johnson-Davis died in November. His mother, Tracey Washington, wants all officers involved to be on administrated leave or fired.
"I'm going to continue to stand until everybody in this situation is held accountable for what they did to my boy," Washington said. She added that she's seen surveillance and body camera video.
"One of those videos is showing that my son was beat, and I knew that he was tased by looking at the bodycam footage, as well,” Washington said.
Every day is hard, Washington said, but Johnson-Davis comes from a big family that is fighting with her. Protestors marched on Sunday from the Palmetto Police Department to Circle K on the corner of 17th Street and 8th Avenue where police said they received the initial call of a disturbance.
In a statement to 10 Tampa Bay, the Palmetto Police Department said it got the call from the convenience store whose clerk said someone was being aggressive with staff and customers. When officers responded, police said Davis ran up to the patrol car, banged on its window and jumped on the hood.
Police continued that Davis resisted arrest and was tased, leading to him having a medical episode. EMS was also on the scene and they began life-saving measures, but he died at the hospital.
"Our son was having a paranoia episode. Instead of medical attention getting there, the police got there. I don't want it to happen to somebody else. Don’t let it hit your front door before you do something about it," Washington said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also investigating. Once the FDLE investigation is complete, it will be forwarded to the state attorney's office for review. There is also a second independent investigation.
Once both investigations are closed, Palmetto police plan to release video of the incident.