Family of Alegend Jones, Ben Crump speak after viewing footage from Youth Villages
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The family of Alegend Jones and attorney Ben Crump continue to call for justice after they viewed footage of what led to the teenage girl’s death.
Jones, 17, died while in Youth Villages custody in November.
Medical records revealed for teen who died at Youth Villages
Earlier Wednesday, Jones’ family and attorney Ben Crump saw video footage from inside Youth Villages and Memphis Police dash camera and body camera footage of the hours leading to Jones’ death.
The push for accountability and transparency from Youth Villages continues as Shona Garner-White grieves the loss of her 17-year-old daughter.
“I just seen the video. There’s no way they can’t take accountability,” she said. “We not gone sweep this under the rug because I’m not going away.”
According to Youth Villages, Jones was experiencing a medical emergency and died at the hospital. However, Jones’ family says the video shows otherwise.
Youth Villages denies abuse allegations after teen’s death, family demands answers
They said it paints a picture of a scared teen who wanted to be alive.
“It gave you a window into this teenagers perspective. You got to hear Alegend’s voice and you got to hear what her fears were, and it was so very telling,” Crump said.
They say Alegend was taken to the health department for a pelvic exam and her fear led to an altercation with six Youth Villages counselors that resulted in Memphis Police being called.
“When police got there, they see her restrained by two men,” Crump said. “She request that the police transport her. She was adamant about not being transported by Youth Villages counselors.”
The family says video shows less than thirty minutes after she returned to Youth Villages, Jones was found unconscious. They say medical records reveal Jones was choked.
“He popped his mask off and said F it, somebody basically choked your child,” Garner-White said. “And I was just horrified.”
Crump says Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy plans to release the video once the investigation is over. They are hoping for criminal charges.
Following Wednesday’s press conference, Youth Villages said in a statement:
“Unfortunately, Ben Crump and others continue to make false and misleading statements, which has been the case since this tragic loss of a child. We reiterate there were no abusive or otherwise inappropriate actions against the youth.
We are waiting for the autopsy report before commenting on anything medical. We have offered to meet with Mr. Crump and his staff, including the opportunity to review the video. They have so far declined.”
We are fully cooperating with the official investigations. We reiterate the following from previous statements (linked here: Dec. 21, Dec. 13 and Dec. 1). Additionally, we can say:
The youth was never in a headlock. Due to the youth’s aggressive outburst upon arriving at our facility, she was placed in a therapeutic hold.
The young person was brought to the health department by two female staff and was never alone with male staff or asked to undress in front of male staff. Due to her aggressive behavior at the health department, additional staff support was required.
Our executives met with the youth’s mother two weeks ago at our girls’ facility during an unplanned visit. We informed her that her daughter’s personal items were released to her legal guardians. Several other cars of people accompanied Ms. Garner to our facility. Police were called due to ongoing threats being made to our facilities and staff in previous days.
Child abuse and neglect are not tolerated under any circumstances. Allegations of abuse or neglect are taken very seriously and reported directly to Child Protective Services. Any allegation is thoroughly investigated by third parties.
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