SALISBURY, N.C.,None — A 22-year-old father of eight died.
His family and friends blame Salisbury police. They started calling and emailing WSOC feverishly Tuesday, claiming police brutality.
Police knew Claymore Jones Jr. well. They arrested him more than 20 times in the past five years, mostly on drug, assault and weapons charges.
A few weeks ago, on Dec. 30, they say he was drunk driving and led them on a chase, all with a 3-year-old in the car. They caught Jones outside his grandmother's house. They said he didn't give up easily. Officers said one of them finally grabbed his shirt, pulled him down, put a knee on his back and cuffed him. Then, his grandmother came out and said to be careful and that Jones gets seizures.
Officers say, then, Jones said he wasn't feeling well. They say paramedics said he was fine, but police took him to the Rowan Regional Medical Center emergency room anyway. When his health went downhill over the next few days, doctors sent him to Presbyterian Hospital in Elizabeth. WSOC is told his family took him off life support Tuesday.
Jones' supporters think officers beat him. One who didn't want his face on camera said, "You just want something done about it. I mean it shouldn't have even came to this. It's sad."
Eyewitness News sat down with Police Chief Rory Collins. He said his officers used as little force as possible. He said Jones ended up with a scratch or cut on his nose, but that was it. Collins says he's still doing an internal investigation and even invited the SBI to do one too, just to show the public Salisbury police didn't do anything wrong.