Council hearing Monday to examine deaths in Suffolk County custody
The hearing order waited six months. On Oct. 21, councilors also filed an order to review how Boston police hand arrested people over to the sheriff's department.
The Boston City Council's Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee will hold a hearing Monday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m. on deaths of people held at the Suffolk County House of Correction and what leads to them.
The hearing matters to Boston residents because people arrested in the city can end up in Suffolk County jails before they ever see a judge. The hearing notice says it will look at the circumstances of in-custody deaths at the House of Correction and the larger factors behind them. It will be in the Iannella Chamber on the fifth floor of City Hall, with in-person and virtual testimony allowed and written comments accepted. City Councilor Henry Santana (at-large) chairs the committee.
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What our records show
Docket 0870 was filed April 24 by City Councilor Miniard Culpepper (District 7). City Councilors Julia Mejia (at-large) and Brian Worrell (District 4) were added as original co-sponsors, and it went to committee April 29. Monday's hearing comes six months later.
The council has voted on this subject three times this year. All three votes were about a man who died in December 2025 after an altercation with correction officers at the jail:
- April 29: A resolution calling for an independent investigation of his death (docket 0871) was adopted 11-0, with two councilors not voting.
- April 29: A resolution calling for the temporary suspension of the staff involved (docket 0872) failed. The vote was 6 yes (Culpepper, Mejia, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell), 3 no (FitzGerald, Flynn, Murphy) and 2 present (Breadon, Durkan), with two councilors not voting.
- Aug. 5: A resolution asking the sheriff's department to adopt administrative leave standards after critical incidents (docket 1550) was adopted 11-0, with City Councilor Sharon Durkan voting present and one councilor absent.
Boston.com reported in August that the state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, which means another person caused it and does not decide criminal guilt. The attorney general's office, Boston police and the Suffolk district attorney are investigating, and no charges have been filed, the outlet reported. Sheriff Mark Lawhorne said the 11 officers involved were moved to jobs without contact with people in custody, according to Boston.com.
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A new order on central booking
On Oct. 21, Culpepper filed a second hearing order, on the central booking agreement between the Boston Police Department and the sheriff's department (docket 1965). City Councilors Ed Flynn (District 2) and Santana were added as original co-sponsors, and it went to Santana's committee.
Culpepper said the October 2023 agreement lets people arrested by Boston police be moved to the Nashua Street Jail or the South Bay House of Correction before their first court appearance (watch at 1:40:05). He said families and lawyers have had trouble finding out where people are held. He also raised questions about medical screening, mental health care and detainees' civil rights:
We have a responsibility to ensure that any agreement involving the detention of individuals arrested in Boston upholds the highest standards of transparency, safety and civil rights protections.
Flynn, a former probation officer, said concerns remain about limited public notice, booking locations that change and trouble locating detainees (1:41:36). He said he wants the hearing to review the agreement's current status and how people are booked and transferred.
What's next
- Monday, Oct. 26, 2 p.m.: Hearing on docket 0870. The notice says those testifying in person should sign up five minutes before it starts, and that the hearing will be livestreamed and recorded.
- Not yet scheduled: The central booking hearing, docket 1965.
Hearing pages and transcripts will appear on our meetings calendar and the committee page.