Nearly a year after the death of India Cummings, members of the Buffalo Anti-Racism Coalition and the family's attorney gathered for a candlelight vigil, demanding answers.
Cummings died after spending nearly two weeks in custody at the Erie County Holding Center.
About a dozen people holding signs and candles gathered at the end of the street where Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard lives. They broadcasted their vigil live on social media, calling for justice for Cummings and other inmates who have died in, or after being in police custody.
The family's attorney, Matthew Albert, says the vigil took place at the end of Sheriff Howard's street instead of at the holding center because, "we wanted to say that we'll go wherever we need to go in our fight for justice." When asked if the location change crossed a personal and professional line, Albert said representatives from the family would be more than willing to not stand at the end of Howard's street in exchange for a sit-down conversation about inmate treatment.
Albert says the ideal outcome of Cummings' death would be a change in the way inmates are treated at the Erie County Holding Center, a new sheriff in Erie County and more awareness for inmate deaths.
