Kevin Desir died a brutal death. His family believe deputies at a notorious Florida jail are responsible

Kevin Desir loved his family.

He loved his father, his mother, his four siblings, many cousins that he remained close with. Desir loved, deeply loved, his two daughters, the first grandchildren of the Desir family, his relatives said.

Desir had plans, including aspirations to buy a house for the two growing girls at the center of his life.

But on 13 January 2021, Desir was arrested for marijuana possession. Four days later the 43-year-old Black man was handcuffed, punched, tasered and pepper-sprayed by detention deputies at a notorious Florida jail. During the brutal 10-minute encounter, Desir became unresponsive. He never regained consciousness and 10 days later, he died.

Desir was arrested on 13 January 2021 for an alleged series of non-violent crimes: possession of marijuana, following too closely in a vehicle and a probation violation, and was transferred to the North Broward Bureau facility.

But in February 2021, a judge allowed the detention center surveillance video to be viewed by attorneys representing the Desir family, and Mikeco, under a confidentiality order that would prevent them from discussing its contents publicly.

After his 2021 arrest and detention, Desir was under psychological observation by jail staff, according to documents.

There is evidence in several jail reports seen by the Guardian that Desir was experiencing a mental health episode shortly before the 17 January incident that preceded his death.

Desir also did not eat anything after the 15th, according to a memo.

Documents describe how Desir was then taken out of the unit, to a nearby restraint chair, where he was held by officers who were strapping Desir into the chair by his arms, legs, and across his waist.

Almost five minutes later, one of the six deputies began attempts to resuscitate Desir via CPR. But it took almost 15min from when Desir became unresponsive for local Emergency Medical Services paramedics to arrive, according to the surveillance video timeline in the internal affairs report.

But his family believes that he was fatally injured at the hands of BSO officials.

The examination, conducted by Dr Gertrude Juste, the then Broward county associate medical examiner, included reviews of video footage, watched with BSO officers present.

The Broward county state attorney ruled out that Desir died from being tased, owing to normal levels of troponin, a chemical that indicates heart damage, in his blood . But memos note that relevant blood work was not obtained byJuste.

But the private autopsy, shared with the Guardian, concluded that Desir had died from manual strangulation when officers, particularly Howard, compressed his neck. That autopsy, conducted by Dr Daniel Schultz of Hillsborough county, Florida, whom the Desir family hired, lists the manner of death as homicide.

Despite the private autopsy being performed in 2021, the report only became available to the family and the Guardian last month.

One of the things Desir was most motivated by was providing for his family, relatives recounted.

Desir had consistently held down employment as a full-time insurance broker, but was interested in other business ventures to give more to his two young daughters. Mikeco and Kevin had launched a yacht chartering business , and were working with friends to get involved in the restaurant and lounge industry, his brother said. Desir had plans to buy a home to make more space with his children. They were aged 10 and 12 when they lost their father.

In a statement, BSO defended their performance reviews of Howard and Daniel, citing the internal affairs investigation which did not recommend discipline.

BSO did not comment on the findings of the private autopsy or allegations of routine misconduct in their facilities.

North Broward Bureau, like the other three jails under BSO, has been under a consent decree since 1995, an agreement that was updated in 2018.

The consent decree was originally ordered after jail conditions under the BSO were found to be unconstitutional. The decree included federal monitoring and ordered new operating standards for the jail.

In a separate July 2021 incident that is still under investigation by BSO officials, another 33-year-old resident reportedly had a chemical thrown in his cell by jail staff, resulting in being transported to the hospital in hospitalized in grave condition for over a week.

In both these cases, experts say that BSO staff have resisted giving up video footage and documentation from the incidents.

Experts have also accused BSO of not following provisions listed in the decree, particularly with regards to the care of mentally ill residents.

Mitchell accused North Broward Bureau and other BSO facilities of squarely not following the decree.

Weekes said that training is available for officers when it comes to how to intercede in a mental health crisis, known as Crisis Intervention Training, but it is unclear how often such training is mandated.

McLymont and Mitchell are still waiting on judgement on their latest attempt to get the Desir video footage released, a motion they filed in September.