WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The family of the man who died after an incident in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility still wants the county and its employees to be held accountable for what happened, even though an investigation by the district attorney's office says no wrongdoing took place.
Luzerne County Manager David Pedri is recommending the county work with a law firm in Philadelphia to independently review video and collect information on the events that took place before the death of Shaheen Mackey of Berwick.
Earlier this month, video was posted on Facebook from June 6, 2018. It was taken inside the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre.
In the chair is Shaheen Mackey of Berwick. Mackey died two days after this incident in a hospital.
Despite the Luzerne County district attorney's office determining no wrongdoing took place, the county settled a $3 million lawsuit with Mackey's family. The family claimed correctional and medical staff at the jail failed to properly respond to Mackey after he had a seizure while in custody.
Luzerne County Manager David Pedri is recommending the county hire a law firm in Philadelphia to independently review the case.
"I wish this had happened two years ago when it was current. Because any time there is a death, it should be investigated not only after the fact, after lawyers get involved by us. But that being said, better late than never," said Barry Dyller, an attorney for the Mackey family.
In a statement, Pedri said, "It is my hope that this independent, fair and impartial report could shed some light on what occurred here and that LCCF could improve and move forward. Once received, the report's findings will be made available to the public."
The investigation will include a review of the full video of what happened inside the jail, not just the 23 minutes posted by Mackey's family on Facebook
Barry Dyller is representing Mackey's family in continued litigation on the case and hopes his law firm is also contacted during the possible investigation.
"We have interviewed witnesses. We know what the witnesses will say, not just the correctional officers. So we have the video, we know what was happening before, we know about coverup after. None of this is out there, but we will certainly offer it for any review," Dyller said.
Whether the county follows through with an independent review is up to the Luzerne County Council. It will be decided on at its next meeting on August 25.