Activist's treatment by police questioned (Miami, FL)

[seafan]

Source: Miami Herald

A longtime Miami civil rights activist lies in a coma in Mount Sinai Medical Center after police took him from his home following what family members describe as a psychotic episode.

The family of Bernard Dyer and fellow activists are raising questions about just what happened when police entered Dyer's Normandy Isle apartment over Thanksgiving weekend.
His family says Miami Beach police shot tear gas into his apartment -- after relatives came to the scene and explained that Dyer, 74, had a history of mental illness. When the air cleared, police entered the place and came out with Dyer, who was on a stretcher and unconscious.

The police department declined to disclose many details because an internal affairs investigation is underway, said Miami Beach Sgt. Robert Hernandez, a spokesman.
Bernadette Armand, an attorney who represents Dyer's family, said he has not awakened since the Nov. 23 incident. She said Dyer is in very critical condition with trauma to his head.

.....

Armand called the incident another in a troubling series of violent encounters between police and black men in Miami. In recent months, black activists have criticized local police in the deaths of four unarmed young black men. One of the men died after being Tasered and tied and the other three were shot to death.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/332390.html