Remembering Brieon Green
On Monday, June 26, the family of Brieon Green held a balloon release to mark one year since his passing. Green’s family has been fighting for justice with the help of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) and the Justice for Brieon Green Coalition. This fight has taken many forms - from marching in the streets to meeting with the District Attorney and the Milwaukee County Sheriff.
After Green’s death, there have been 3 more in-custody deaths at the Milwaukee County Jail. These in-custody deaths reveal clear negligence from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in the jail and ineffective policies and procedures. In Green’s case, the correctional officer failed to do a proper and timely wellness check. As revealed in the video footage shown to Green’s family, the next wellness check came 37 minutes after. Law requires wellness checks to be completed every 15 minutes.
MSCO has been less than cooperative when the Justice for Brieon Green Coalition and the MAARPR asked for basic things such as their policies and procedures in the jails and for Sheriff Denita Ball to hold a town hall. The MCSO has even made a bogus claim that the family cannot take Brieon’s personal belongings because “this is an ongoing investigation.”
While the system attempts to slow down Green’s family, they are strong and resilient as they continue this fight a year later. The Justice for Brieon Green Coalition also brought together other families, such as the family of Cilivea Thyrion, who passed away in the jail in December. As a result of this continued fight, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors are also looking to pass a jail audit, which aims at bringing transparency to the public about what goes on in County Jail. Some of Green’s family are also members of MAARPR and have aided in the fight for the recent Standard Operating Procedure 575 victory, which revolves around the timely release of body camera footage to the public within the Milwaukee Police Department.
Whether it’s in the courtrooms or the streets, the family continues to fight for justice for Brieon Green. Long live Brieon Green!
