"Our questions...are pretty obvious': Family, protestors rally after police say man shot himself in squad car

 

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Relatives of a man who police say shot and killed himself while in custody rallied outside the Kenosha County Courthouse Saturday.

Demonstrators joined the family of Jacob Albright, 36, to call on investigators to release more details about the arrest prior to Albright's death.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Pleasant Prairie Police Department said it was taking Albright to jail on "weapons related offenses" when officers heard the sound of a gunshot come from the back of the squad car.

"Preliminary information indicates the arrestee suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a concealed weapon not located in the initial search by officers," the statement read.

Albright's sister, Nicole Melander, said the family struggled to understand how officers didn't find a gun on Albright given the reason for the arrest.

"You would think they would be extra thorough when checking for weapons," she said.

Albright's family and a police source have told CBS 58 Albright was wearing a t-shirt and shorts at the time of his arrest.

"They weren't searching 12 pockets of a winter parka," Melander said.

The Racine County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation. In a statement Friday, the agency confirmed it was investigating the case and, when finished, would provide a report to the Kenosha County District Attorney's office for review.

The sheriff's office referred all other questions to Pleasant Prairie police, whose chief, Dave Smetana, said Friday he would not do interviews or share information beyond what was in the department's statement.

Members of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which organized Saturday's vigil, called on Racine County investigators to release more evidence to the public, specifically any video of the arrest.

"The best-case scenario is gross negligence. The worst-case scenario is a cover-up," the group's finance chair, Omar Flores, said. "So, we really need to understand what's happening here. All we know is that this shouldn't have happened."

Melander said she also wanted the focus of Saturday's vigil to be remembering Albright's life.

She acknowledged Albright's arrest history; he was out on bond Thursday following a physical altercation with his father a few weeks earlier. Albright's father was at the vigil Saturday.

State court records show Albright had previous felony convictions for harboring/aiding a felon and cocaine possession.

Melander said she believed her brother's story illustrated why the criminal justice system is not equipped to deal with people plagued by mental illness and drug addiction.

"They get thrown in jail over and over and over again, and never really helped," she said. "He deserved the help that he didn't receive, and we all love him."

Before focusing on that bigger picture issue, Melander said she just wanted to know how her brother was able to get into the squad car with a gun.

"Our questions, I think, are pretty obvious for everybody who's heard this story," she said.