Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump stood beside the family of Alegend Jones moments after they watched video footage leading up to the teenβs death. Jones was sent to the hospital and put on life support moments after an alleged altercation with staff at a group home.
Crump said they viewed two videos from the November incident: surveillance footage inside Youth Villages group home and body camera footage showing 17-year-old Jones being restrained in a headlock by two male counselors with 12 counselors in frame.
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Crump said in neither video did he see exactly what happened to Jones because of the staff crowding her. However, he shared that 27 minutes went by between the time she was last seen alive on camera and when she was picked up lifeless off the floor. Crump and Jonesβ family said in the video, the group of counselors scattered from Jonesβ body and looked like theyβd been dripping sweat.
Shauna Garner White, Jonesβ mother, said a doctor told her about 45 minutes went by with her daughter being unresponsive at the group home and almost another hour passed of daughter being unconscious while being transferred between hospitals and treatment.
By the time she got to her, Jones suffered a brain bleed and was met with a decision of whether to keep her daughter on life support.
βSomebody choked your child,β Jones said the doctor told her. βI was just horrified. I was saying to myself, βThereβs nothing they couldβve done,β but I didnβt want to pull the plug. But at the end of the day, it shouldβve never happened.β
Crump previously shared Jonesβ medical records, revealing that she suffered from compression of the brain, rhabdomyolysis and sustained injuries from being brutally assaulted. As far as the investigation goes, Crump said prosecutors are considering criminal charges, but the investigation is still ongoing.
Youth Villages maintained that their staff did not assault Jones, according to a statement.
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