Dennoriss Richardson, a black man from Alabama who just recently sued cops for beating him up, has died. His body was found in an empty house near the Mississippi border in Colbert County, Alabama, on September 28.
Roderick Van Daniel, a civil rights lawyer, said Richardson was tied to a tree with a rope. Even though Richardson’s family and friends are now fighting for justice, Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine said that he was found to have killed himself.
“We got a call about a strange car at a house on Highway 72 on the west side of Colbert County,” Balentine told AL.com. “When our deputies go down to look into the strange car, they find Mr. Richardson.” The man was hanging from a beam on the garage.
Leigh Ann Richardson, Richardson’s wife, says that the sheriff’s story is false.
AL.com reports that she said, “I need answers.” “It was staged to look like a suicide.” It’s not a murder.
Leigh says that police in Sheffield, Alabama put her husband under arrest and hounded him over and over again after he sued several officers and Police Lt. Max Dotson on February 26, saying that deputies abused him while he was in jail from November 30, 2022, to December 1, 2022. Leigh said that the police promised to drop the charges against Richardson if he dropped the federal case.
“He was paid off to drop the case, which he never did,” she said.
Steve Stanley, the mayor of Sheffield, said he knew Richardson and was “sorry to hear of his death.”
According to AL.com, Stanley said, “I’ve met Dennoriss a few times before, and they’ve always been polite and friendly.” “I didn’t have any bad feelings toward him at all.”
When Richardson was caught on drug charges, he sued Dotson and several other Sheffield police officers. He said Dotson and the other cops told him, “Nobody can help you,” while they held him down in a chair.
The suit also says that the 39-year-old man was tased and mace-sprayed by cops in his cell. The lawsuit said that Richardson was charged with second-degree assault against Dotson.
Richardson, who went back to jail earlier this year, also brought up a supposed event on January 9. He told them he needed to call 911 for help right then, but they grabbed his phone and threw him to the ground. The lawsuit says that Richardson was then charged with making a false emergency report by the cops.
After being locked up on a drug charge, Richardson was freed by Balentine and sent out of state to stay with a family member.
“Right after being released, he told his probation officer that he wasn’t going to follow the rules of his release,” the sheriff said. “A warrant was issued for his arrest.”
Leigh says that Richardson picked his uncle in Washington state to be his probationary guardian. So that his uncle could be his guardian, Richardson would have to move to Washington, Leigh said, because he would have to be close to him.
Leigh says Richardson decided to turn himself in and do his time because he didn’t want to move away from his kids. He spoke to her last on September 26, she says.
Leigh said that in the missing person report, Sheffield police named Richardson as a white man, even though they knew he was Black.
Police say Richardson had signs of sadness, but his family doesn’t agree.
The boy’s mother, Bonita Richardson, told AL.com, “My son was happy.” “He wasn’t having any mental problems.” He would never hurt himself. He wasn’t going to hurt himself.
The family also has doubts about where Richardson was found. She said that her son’s body was found about 15 miles from the Mississippi border.
She said, “He wouldn’t have driven himself that far out, almost to Mississippi.” “That kind of place scared him.”
Van Daniel said that the case would be looked into by the FBI.
He told AL.com, “This is a family issue, a community issue for Colbert County, the State of Alabama, and the United States of America.” “I’m glad to hear that the federal government will look into this.” We are all looking for the truth, to learn, and to do what is right.
