Death of Black Man Who Died in Police Custody Ruled a Homicide

A coroner said that a Black man’s, who died in police custody in Louisiana, death was homicide by asphyxiation, HuffPost reports.

Keeven Robinson, 22, died at a Jefferson Parish hospital on Thursday. He was involved in a car chase with law enforcement who said he was a suspect in an investigation involving drugs.

During the chase, Robinson exited his vehicle and ran from officers, but was caught by four White police officers. He was taken into custody, following a struggle, where he later died, according to HuffPost.

“This initial medical classification does not take into account whether the homicide was an intentional act, accidental act, or an act incidental to a law enforcement action,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said in a statement.

Following the coroner’s report, 100 people marched in the streets calling for justice.

I like the fact that Sheriff Lopinto stepped up to plate, and he’s doing his part,” Gaylor Spiller, president of the NAACP’s West Jefferson Parish chapter said, according to WDSU. “He knows that the NAACP will be on his trail.”

The four unidentified officers involved have been reassigned, per reports.

“Somebody’s family actually lost a life, and I’m very cognizant of that,” Lopinto said during the news conference. “That doesn’t mean our officers did anything wrong, or it may mean that they did something wrong.”