Family Demands Answers After Mentally Ill Man Dies in Prison

The family of Tyreick Rodriguez is speaking out, questioning why police arrested him in the first place, just for riding a bicycle without a headlamp, when his mental health condition was already well known. His uncle, Clinton Rodriguez, told News Five that he believes both the police and the courts could have handled the situation differently. He pointed to the recent case of Allaire McDougal, another mentally ill person who was detained, saying these incidents show a troubling pattern. “This could have happened to anyone struggling with mental illness”, Clinton said. “Someone needs to be held accountable.” The family is now calling for answers, and for change.

 

On the Phone:  Clinton Rodriquez, Relative of Deceased

“I understand that he was arrested for riding a bicycle without bell and light and eventually he was charged for that. I believe that most people around where he live, including members of the police force know that he has a mental issue. I am curious how nobody figured he had a mental issue in the first place for them to charge him. In any case, he ended up being charged a thirty dollar fine he couldn’t pay and he ended up in prison. I think from the police side they should have been able to tell he had a mental issue and even when we went in front of the judge somebody should have figured out by just talking to him that he has a mental issue. because it does not take two seconds before he goes off on a tangent of something else. At the same time we are just trying to understand what is happening and hopefully somebody can explain because this can happen to anybody and the way society dealt with his situation, I heard in the news about the other lady that they were dealing with her in a similar fashion, it is something our society needs to pay attention to, especially the leaders and the justice system.”