By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD — The family of Bryan Bostic has established a GoFundMe fundraiser to assist them with caring for his daughter after he died in the custody of the Inglewood Police Department March 10.
“My son, Bryan, was taken from us in a senseless, violent and tragic act at the hands of the Inglewood Police Department. No parent should have to bury their child,” the family posted on its GoFundMe page.
According to a witness, “officers pulled over a silver or gray four-door Mercedes-Benz” in the 400 block of East Hillcrest Boulevard.
“My family, we really need answers and justice for my cousin Bryan Bostic … all we know is when my cousin left us, he was perfectly fine and when he got into the department’s custody, they pronounced him dead and they haven’t really told us anything,” said his cousin, Talia Castillo who assembled with the family in front of a makeshift vigil March 15 where the incident occured.
The medical examiner’s office has listed Bostic’s cause of death as “deferred.” He was a 37-year-old Compton resident.
“The case is still under investigation, and limited information is currently available. The Inglewood Police Department is the investigating law enforcement agency,” according to the department’s public information officer.
Mayor James Butts Jr. typically issues press releases from his office to alert the public to incidents involving the Inglewood Police Department, but has not done so in this case.
The medical examiner listed the location of death as “law enforcement agency” but declined to be more specific on whether that was at the police station or in police custody at the location of the traffic stop.
“Witnesses saw the police beating him, and IPD told us that he was pulled over during a routine traffic stop, and when he got to the police station, he was unresponsive,” Castillo said.
The city canceled its March 17 City Council meeting after Bostic’s death, leading some residents speculating the cancellation was to prevent the family and public from demanding answers surrounding the incident.
Calls to Inglewood Police spokesperson Lt. Scott Collins went unanswered.
“This man’s death happened in Councilwoman Gloria Gray’s district, and she has been unavailable to residents since mid-December,” said Marvin McCoy, a longtime resident. “The longer Mayor Butts avoids publicly discussing the incident, the public has no choice but to believe this further highlights the dysfunction in the Inglewood Police Department.”
Inglewood officers are not outfitted with body-worn cameras, and Butts has publicly denounced the use of cameras since the death of Ivan Solis Mara in 2023 during a reported mental health crisis.
At the time, Councilwoman Gray said “the council should take up the issue” of body cameras during a discussion surrounding Solis Mara’s death.
Butts disagreed, saying “LAPD has body-worn cameras and bad shootings still occur”.
“Body-worn cameras only assist a jury,” Butts said. He says he prefers to continue to train his officers on the preservation of life.
Under Butts, the council-appointed police commission was disbanded around the time of the fatal 2016 shooting of Marquintin Sandlin and Kisha Michael, leaving the public unable to address public safety issues absent of attending city council meetings that are held on Tuesday afternoons.
Bostic’s family insists he was fine when they last saw him and is asking the community to send them any videos they have of the incident if available.
“We have to put a stop to this and need answers and really need the community’s help,” Castillo said. “He has a daughter and a whole family that misses him and loves him.”
His family has established a GoFundMe fundraiser at https://gofund.me/b2b44617d to assist with caring for his daughter.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
