The grieving friends and family at Haleem Johnson’s funeral Friday night spoke of the absence left by his sudden death in police custody — how they’d miss his constant calls and his random visits.
But very little was made of how he was taken from them at age 38 — until his best friend Lamont Redish, took the stage.
“I'm not gonna stop until Haleem has justice,” Redish said. Immediately, a sea of familiar chants erupted: “Justice for Haleem. No justice, no peace.”
Police said Johnson was “found unconscious and unresponsive” in a holding cell at the NYPD Midtown South precinct on April 1. But officers ignored Johnson as he spent several hours calling for help with chest pain, his girlfriend told Gothamist. She later watched as he was wheeled out on a stretcher.
The NYPD has declined to release details about Johnson’s death — raising questions about what happened inside his cell that day.
But on Friday night, Johnson’s loved ones focused on the person they knew and would miss.
Haleem Johnson’s girlfriend, who goes by, Indigo. She and Johnson were arrested together.
“If I’d known that was the last time I was gonna see my nephew, I would’ve hugged him just a little bit tighter and just a little bit longer,” said Johnson’s aunt, Towanda Daniels.
Johnson’s casket was placed at the front of the Crown Heights funeral home beside a heart-shaped bouquet of red roses. His family and friends joked about his incessant FaceTime calls and how he’d ring your doorbell with no warning just to surprise you.
The memorial service was standing room only, with toddlers pouring into the aisles and stuffing into the doorways of the green-carpeted room.
Johnson’s childhood friend, Lamont Redish, chanted “Justice for Haleem” during his remarks.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, I had to throw him out a few times” when he drank too much, Daniels laughed.
“We all did!” someone shouted from the crowd.
Police said Johnson’s death is being investigated by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, and the cause of Johnson’s death is still under review by the city's medical examiner.
In 2014, Congress passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act which is supposed to force local law enforcement agencies to be transparent on the subject, but NPR reported earlier this year that local agencies are not fully complying and, as a result, the U.S. government doesn’t know how many people die in police custody each year.
