June 12, 2009

District Attorney Refuses to Release Autopsy Report in Taser Death of Jamaal Valentine


Galveston County Medical Examiner Stephen Pustilnik has finished an autopsy report on Jamaal Valentine.

Villagers may remember that Valentine is the 27-year old Black man killed by La Marque (TX) police officers who got into a fight after being called to the site to give help because of the victim's possible heart attack. Valentine died on May 17.

The autopsy report is being kept hidden by the powers-that-be in Texas. Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said his office is opposing the release of the report to the public while his office investigates the Valentine case. [SOURCE]

There is no confirmation that Valentine had any drugs in his system the night he got into the tussle with police. It is likely that the police and district attorney are afraid to publish the autopsy report because it will clearly show that the unnecessary electrocution of Jamaal Valentine with 50,000 volts of electricity from the police taser gun was the cause of death.
“It is still an ongoing investigation, and we are still reviewing the evidence,” Sistrunk said. “There may very well be a need to have follow-up interviews with the witnesses that the Sheriff’s Office has spoken with, or other witnesses who have yet to come forward, and it is in the best interests of everyone concerned that we do all we can to avoid even the hint of impropriety by providing the impetus, so to speak, of an allegation that a witness didn’t come forward until after all the findings were released and their recollection was thus subject to an allegation of being influenced by the M.E.’s findings, if they were released.”
Sistrunk said he would be meeting with Valentine’s family next week to update them on the progress of the investigation. Hopefully, the public will be updated as well. There have been 21 taser-related deaths in America so far this year. Isn't it time for us to get all the facts?

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