ACLU of Connecticut Calls for Full Public Accountability as Video of J’Allen Jones’ Killing at Garner Correctional Institution Is Released

HARTFORD – The ACLU of Connecticut today calls on the public, state lawmakers, and constitutional officers to watch and reckon with the sole video footage documenting the final moments of J’Allen Jones’s life.

Mr. Jones was a 31-year-old Black man who died in 2018 at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown. While experiencing severe symptoms of schizophrenia, he was pepper sprayed, struck, and forcibly moved —all while physically restrained. The footage, which shows the moments before and after Mr. Jones’ death, is the sole video evidence of what Mr. Jones endured before he died. The public has a right to access this video because when a person dies at the hands of public employees, transparency is not optional.

“Both the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Correction have fought hard to keep this video hidden from the public eye,” said Dan Barrett, legal director of the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut. “But the public has every right to see what DOC employees did to Mr. Jones. And white people like me, who are in the streets protesting the racism of the Trump administration, have an obligation to view the video and see that Black and brown people are being subjected to death and violence right here at home at the hands of our state government. I have a responsibility to know about J’Allen Jones, say his name, ask about who he was, and talk about what the state did to him. Without transparency and access to court records like this one, the state makes that decision for me—for all of us—creating more barriers to hold our state accountable for ending a life that it should have been taking care of.”

Before his death, correctional employees were moving Mr. Jones within the prison because he was experiencing severe symptoms of schizophrenia. While moving him, the employees told Mr. Jones to submit to a strip search. When Mr. Jones resisted, the employees physically forced him onto a bed and began removing his clothes for a search. One employee kneed Mr. Jones in his thigh, a supervisor twice sprayed Mr. Jones with pepper spray, several employees placed Mr. Jones in full restraints and a safety veil over his head, and a prison employee administered a combination of Benadryl, Ativan, and Haldol. They moved Mr. Jones to a cell, where shortly after he was unresponsive. Mr. Jones was pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital.

The Department of Correction’s own investigator found that the employees involved had violated the department’s use of force policy. Among as many as nine employees, each one failed to recognize when Mr. Jones had stopped resisting and could no longer stand on his own. Even afterwards, it took 7 minutes and 16 seconds before staff realized Mr. Jones was in distress and began CPR. Despite these findings, the Attorney General's office moved to seal the video, which was when the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut intervened in the case to fight for the video’s public release.

Today, eight years after Mr. Jones’ death, the public can finally see what the state sought to keep hidden.

“To be clear: We do not wish for anyone to have to view the video. But we believe that the public—especially lawmakers who oversee and can change this system—must see this video because it is imperative the people know what is being done in our names behind prison walls,” Barrett continued. “Those who can look away have a responsibility to use their privilege as witnesses and refuse to be a part of an attempt to erase a Black man’s death. Instead, we have a responsibility to honor J’Allen Jones and his family by witnessing this experience that Black people cannot look away from and calling for meaningful accountability for the officers involved."

J’Allen Jones was someone’s son, a friend, and a human being who was under the care of the state of Connecticut. What happened to J’Allen Jones must not happen again, and that path requires full transparency. Without access to records like this one, we would never be able to know exactly what happens behind prison walls, creating a barrier to accountability. The ACLU of Connecticut remains committed to ensuring transparency and accountability from all branches of the government, especially when people’s lives are in its hands.

Read about Richardson v. Semple here.

Please note that this press release is subject to modifications to include partners’ statements that may become available at a later time.