Sharpton speaks at funeral for woman who died in cops’ custody

ATLANTA - The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy Thursday for a woman who suffered fatal injuries while in Hancock County deputies’ custody.

Watch a stream of the funeral above.

Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, noted that the service was both a celebration of life and an opportunity to condemn the circumstances that led to her death. Sharpton called for accountability, invoking the Bible verse that says, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Sharpton also pledged $5,000 toward a scholarship fund for Grier’s 3-year-old twins. And he promised to go to the Justice Department if nothing meaningful happens as a result of a state investigation.

Grier’s family remembered the woman as a caring daughter, sister, aunt and most importantly, a loving mother to her two little girls.

Brianna Marie Grier, 28, suffered fatal injuries when she fell from a moving patrol car... — Brianna Marie Grier, 28, suffered fatal injuries when she fell from a moving patrol car following her arrest.(Source: The Ben Crump Law Firm via CNN)

After the funeral, there was a gathering at the state Capitol to stage a small protest.

Deputies arrested Grier on July 15 in Sparta after her parents called 911 because their daughter, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had threatened to hurt herself and her twin girls.

While in transport, Grier, handcuffed and without a seat belt, fell out of the police vehicle’s rear passenger-side door. Grier suffered brain trauma that led to a coma, and she died six days later on July 21.

In the early stages of the investigation, it was determined that while deputies were taking Grier to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, she fell out of a patrol car and suffered significant injuries.

On July 27, new details were released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after numerous interviews, reviews of body camera footage, and mechanical tests on the patrol car.

Agents concluded the rear passenger side door of the patrol car, near where Grier was sitting, was never closed.

“I feel like it’s my fault because I called them,” said Grier’s mother, Mary. “I trusted them to take care of her, not to harm her.”

“Just reckless conduct on behalf of these officers,” said nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump. “Deliberate indifference at the hands of somebody who was having a mental health crisis.”

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office had no comment on Crump’s allegation.

The GBI says the investigation remains active and is still ongoing.