‘We’re asking for justice’

By Stephen Oduntan

Contributing Writer

INGLEWOOD — Four relatives and supporters of Bryan Bostic, the 37-year-old man who died following an encounter with Inglewood police in March, were handed notices June 16 barring them from physically attending Inglewood City Council meetings for the next 120 days, escalating a months-long dispute between the family and city officials.

Among those receiving the notices were Bostic’s aunt, Marie Darden, grassroots Black Lives Matter organizer Sheila Bates and two other supporters, who said they were presented with the documents upon arriving at City Hall before that night’s council meeting.

Darden said the group never made it into the council chamber.

“As soon as we walked in at the information desk, Mayor Butts’ security, Emery Ward, handed us the paper stating we were banned for 120 days,” Darden said in a video she recorded moments after receiving the notice.

Standing outside City Hall after being denied entry, Darden questioned why the family was being barred after months of seeking answers about Bostic’s death.

“All we’re doing is asking for justice,” Darden said. “All we’re doing is asking for transparency. All we’re doing is asking for the truth. Why are we getting treated like we were the ones that committed the crime?”

A copy of one exclusion notice reviewed by a reporter prohibits recipients from physically attending Inglewood City Council meetings through Oct. 14. The notice cites alleged disruptive conduct during the June 9 council meeting and references provisions of the Inglewood Municipal Code governing meeting decorum and public participation. The copy reviewed by the reporter does not identify the recipient by name.

“I was shocked because I was not given this information beforehand, and I was not given adequate warning,” Bates said. “But more shocking than not being allowed into the meeting myself was seeing Bryan Bostic’s family denied the opportunity to attend.”

The notices mark the latest chapter in a dispute that has intensified in the months since Bostic’s death.

Since March, relatives have regularly appeared before the City Council seeking the identities of the officers involved in Bostic’s arrest, additional records related to the encounter and greater transparency surrounding the circumstances of his death.

Bostic, 37, died following a late-night traffic stop March 10 that involved him being taken into custody by Inglewood police.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner issued a news release May 28 — 70 days after Bostic’s death — saying that Bostic died from the affects of methamphetamine and that the cause of death was accidental.

According to the medical examiner’s release, Inglewood police officers “observed drug paraphernalia in Mr. Bostic’s car, and a physical altercation occurred between Mr. Bostic and the officers trying to take him into custody. Emergency medical services personnel were called to the scene to check on Mr. Bostic and medically cleared him before officers transported him to the Inglewood Police Department station.

“Upon arriving at the station, officers found Mr. Bostic unresponsive in the patrol vehicle, and resuscitation efforts began. EMS paramedics [with the Los Angeles County Fire Department] responded. A clear plastic baggie with an unknown substance was found in Mr. Bostic’s mouth.”

The conflict between Bostic’s family and city officials reached a peak during the June 9 City Council meeting.

Throughout public comment, Mayor James T. Butts Jr. strictly enforced the council’s one-minute speaking limit, repeatedly cutting off speakers after their allotted time expired and warning that further disruptions would result in removal.

Tensions escalated after Butts publicly read portions of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s findings regarding Bostic’s death. Family members and supporters interrupted the proceedings, arguing the account conflicted with video evidence and prior statements they said city officials had previously provided. Several attendees were ultimately escorted from the council chamber.

Bates said those who received exclusion notices were among those who spoke during the June 9 meeting. She also said one recipient had never previously addressed the council before that day.

Bates said the family’s concerns extend beyond the exclusion notices, arguing that the city’s emphasis on maintaining order during council meetings has overshadowed the questions relatives have continued to raise about Bostic’s death.

“He’s more concerned about decorum and the agenda than the fact that a life was disrupted, a family was disrupted and a community was disrupted,” Bates said. “They’re failing to see that.”

The strained relationship between the family and city officials extended beyond the council chamber.

Following the April 28 City Council meeting, during which officials approved the purchase of body-worn cameras and family members challenged the city’s handling of Bostic’s death, a verbal confrontation occurred outside the council chambers between Bostic’s cousin, Brother Mohammed, and a city staff member. A reporter witnessed the exchange, during which voices were raised before security personnel intervened.

Mohammed said he was later warned he would be arrested if he returned to City Hall, prompting him not to attend this week’s council meeting, when the exclusion notices were distributed.

“We’ve been asking questions for months,” Mohammed said. “Every time we come down there, it seems like the tension gets worse.”

Phone calls requesting comments from Butts and the city clerk’s office regarding the exclusion notices and the circumstances surrounding their issuance were made June 17. Neither office responded prior to press time.

Despite the exclusion notices, Bates said the family’s efforts to seek answers about Bostic’s death will continue.

“We will be at the next City Council meeting,” Bates said. “We will continue to speak truth to power and make sure the truth is told about Bryan Bostic, the grief his family is experiencing and the demand for justice in his name.”

Stephen Oduntan is a freelance writer for Wave Newspapers.