The family of a mentally ill Bronx man who died in NYPD custody filed a complaint on May 15 against the cops involved, claiming the officers caused his unexpected death. Relatives said the Denis Reyes, 40, suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. On May 14, NYPD police received a call that Reyes was breaking furniture. As reported in the New York Daily News, sources said that when officers arrived they handcuffed Reyes. Reyes kicked the officers, and another officer handcuffed his ankles. When other cops arrived with a Velcro strap that was wrapped around his legs below the knees, the ankle cuffs were removed, the sources said. With EMS arrived, they placed him into a wheelchair. According to the sources, as paramedics were taking Reyes to the ambulance, he went into cardiac arrest. EMS performed CPR on him while traveling to St. Barnabas Hospital, where Reyes died. An autopsy was performed Friday. The FDNY is conducting a “basic review,” and the NYPD is conducting an internal investigation. Elizabeth Calacios, Reyes’ ex-wife, said the family plans to sue the NYPD.

The city of Charlotte reached a $2.25 million settlement on May 14 in the civil suit involving a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer the fatal killing of a 24-year-old. WSOC-TV reported that two million will be paid by the city, and the remaining amount will be covered by liability insurance. Jonathan Ferrell’s family filed a civil suit in January 2014 citing all parties of gross negligence in Ferrell’s death. The settlement of the civil case is unrelated to the criminal case. Officer Randall Kerrick shot and killed Ferrell in September 2013 and he has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case on the shooting.

Miami-Dade County’s state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced last Thursday that 16 Miami Beach police officers exchanged racist and sexist work emails. According to CBS News, about 230 emails demeaning to African-Americans and women or pornographic in nature were found.  Many were depictions of crude racial jokes involving President Obama. One shows a woman with a black eye and the caption, “Domestic violence. Because sometimes, you have to tell her more than once.” One of the racially offensive emails depicted a board game called “Black Monopoly” in which every square read, “go to jail.” Oates said the emails became known in an unrelated 2013 internal affairs investigate. Most of the emails spanned the years 2010 to mid-2012.  Most of the officers involved only received the offensive emails instead of forwarding them. Two of the 16 officers were high-ranking within the Miami Beach Police Department and were the main leaders. One has retired, and the other was fired on May 14.

The death of Calvon Reid in the custody of Coconut Creek Police officers in Florida has been ruled a homicide. Reid’s death certificate stated that Reid died from complications of an electro-muscular disruption device or Taser. According to CBSMiami, the attorney for Calvon Reid‘s family, Jarrett Blakely, said the document proves that the actions of the police led to Reid’s death. The 39-year-old died in February died after Coconut Creek Police tasered him in the parking lot of a condo complex.