Tallahassee resident Sallie Washington understood the nightmarish pain that wouldn't go away as she watched more than 2,000 people Friday demanding answers to the boot-camp death of Martin Lee Anderson.
"My son died three years ago after being arrested by the Tallahassee police," said Washington, 49. "I can't believe this is happening again."
"It's like a bad dream we can't wake up from." Sallie, 46, and Joshua Washington, 49, spoke softly as the plaza at the Capitol filled with students, citizens and celebrities protesting the death of Anderson, 14, who died Jan. 6 after being beaten and restrained by guards in a Bay County Sheriff's Office boot camp. The rally drew the Washingtons and others who said their loved ones had been mistreated while in police custody or prison.
Josh Washington, 24, died about five hours after being arrested in March 2003. Police stopped his car and took him into custody after finding marijuana in the vehicle, according to police reports.
"He was arrested about midnight," Sallie Washington said. "I was at his fiancee's house about 5 a.m. when two men came to the door and told me he was dead."
She says she didn't know anything was wrong with her son until she was told he had died. Washington became ill while being taken to the Leon County Jail and died a short time later at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. An autopsy report indicated he had swallowed a plastic bag of cocaine and died from an overdose.
Police reports show he was held at the scene of his arrest for about two hours while officers searched unsuccessfully for drugs.
Tallahassee Senior Assistant City Attorney Lew Shelley said Josh Washington told Leon County jail personnel during booking he had not taken any drugs and he did not appear ill or disoriented.
Sallie Washington and her son's fiancee, Stacey Reddings, filed a wrongful-death suit against the Tallahassee Police Department in September 2005. The case is scheduled for trial in October.
Joshua Washington spoke softly Friday as the crowd swelled around him, waiting for speakers that included the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
"It's hard to think about it," he said of the death of his son. "He has a 3-year-old daughter. She was 8 days old when he died."
"She's named Joshalyn, after her dad," Sallie Washington said.
Joshua Washington said the video images of the boot-camp guards beating and restraining Anderson troubled him.
"Every youth is supposed to obey the law," he said, "but the law is also supposed to obey the law."
Sallie Washington and Anderson's mother, Gina Jones, met with Jackson and Sharpton before the rally.
"They prayed with us," she said, shaking her head. When asked how she dealt with the death of her son, she replied, "You don't deal with it. It deals with you."
The images of Anderson's beating resonated with other people who said their loved ones had been mistreated while in custody. Keya Price of Tallahassee alleges that guards beat her brother at D. Ray James Prison in Folkston, Ga. An investigation is ongoing, she said.
"This is not going to continue to happen and no one get punished for beating other people," she said. "That's not right."
Gretchen Infinger, also of Tallahassee, said she knew of several incidents in which inmates were mistreated.
"I worked for the Department of Corrections for 20 years as a teacher, and I know a lot of this stuff went on that was just brushed under the carpet, and I'm here to bring an end to that in some way," she said.
Joshua Washington said there was no way to help Anderson's family deal with the loss.
His eyes carry the haunted look of a parent who has lost a child.
"I would tell them to pray," he said, "and let God be in charge."
The Police State 