The family of Damien Cameron is requesting further details about their loved one’s July 2021 death in Braxton, Mississippi, at the hands of police.
According to The Clarion-Ledger, officials from digital activism hub COMMUNITYx joined Cameron’s family and activists Flo White and Walt Kelly on Friday at a “Justice 4 Damien Cameron” news conference in the hopes of gathering fresh evidence to support renewing the case.
Cameron’s kin and area activists said they are sick of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department not being held responsible for acts of police violence.
“I didn’t know that my last words to my son would be, ‘Son, I love you, I do,’ before he suffered a tragic death,” said Cameron’s mother, Monica Lee, The Clarion-Ledger reported. “We are demanding they release this … critical documentation for the case. My heart is broken.”
The press conference follows a June 10 protest against the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department at a town hall meeting held in response to allegations that some deputies had mistreated Black residents.
Authorities were dispatched to the town of Braxton in Rankin County on July 26, 2021, in response to a report of vandalism. Damien Cameron, a 29-year-old Black man with a history of mental issues, had reportedly been “busting holes” in a neighbor’s house using a pipe after an argument.
Lee claimed that after a chase during which her son allegedly tried to flee and resisted arrest, a deputy knelt on Cameron’s back for “15 to 20 minutes” while awaiting backup officers, and the man said he couldn’t breathe. After deputies confined him in a patrol car, Cameron allegedly continued to complain aloud about his inability to breathe.
After gathering evidence, the deputies reportedly returned to the vehicle, where they allegedly discovered Cameron motionless and tried to perform CPR.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center later declared him dead. The state medical examiner deemed his cause of death “inconclusive.”
A Rankin County grand jury decided not to indict or arrest deputies Hunter Elward and Luke Stickman.
Lee described her son as a well-mannered individual who respected those in authority, and she couldn’t see why Rankin County deputies would act in a hostile manner with him. She demands an investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and the disclosure of the original dashcam footage, relevant public records and other details.
The grieving mother said she feels law enforcement is sweeping Cameron’s case under the rug.
“My son’s death may not have meant anything to them,” Lee contended, “but he was everything to me.”
Chloe Cheyenne, COMMUNITYx founder and CEO, argued that although officials claimed there wasn’t enough proof, they failed to speak to or acknowledge Cameron’s relatives, who were present when he was killed. She requests the release of any relevant public records and footage that the mother or her family have yet to view of the deputy’s vehicle or body cam.
“There isn’t enough time to make a mother, grandmother or brother stop fighting for justice for their relative,” Cheyenne added.
Police officers in Mississippi are not mandated to wear body cams, including in Rankin County.
Rankin County is conservative, predominantly white and located east of Jackson, the state capital with one of the largest Black populations. The county has about 120 officers to serve its nearly 160,000 residents.
Cameron’s cousin, Laneatria Barnes, said the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department has yet to be held accountable.
“I’ve gotten questions asking us why are we still protesting knowing that justice will not be given in my cousin’s case,” she said, The Clarion-Ledger reported, “but justice needs to be served.”
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