Kalief Browder
Died May 30th, 2015Kalief Browder
Facts
Fact 1: Kalief Browder was a 22-year-old Black man and student at Bronx Community College. On May 15, 2010, an NYPD officer arrested then 16-year-old Kalief in the Bronx for allegedly stealing a backpack.
Fact 2: Officers’ searches never yielded the stolen bag, but Kalief was still detained on Rikers Island for $3,000 bail, which his family could not afford. Kalief was held for 3 years without ever standing trial.
Fact 3: Kalief spent 2 of those 3 years on Rikers in solitary confinement, a form of torture. Kalief was also repeatedly assaulted and starved by Correction Officers. He tried ending his life several times while in solitary.
Fact 4: In May 2013, after pressuring Kalief to plead guilty for years and postponing his trial 30 times, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office dropped the case, finally letting Kalief go.
Fact 5: Kalief was mentally scarred from his time at Rikers and showed signs of PTSD. On May 30, 2015, Kalief committed suicide at his mother’s home in the Bronx. He had told his mother that he just couldn’t take the pain anymore.