Household calls for solutions after man dies in custody at Savannah police headquarters

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – The family of a man who died in the care of the Savannah Police Department search for answers as they mourn his death.

Family members stood outside police headquarters on Friday, where William Harvey died last weekend, and said the department had received no information.

“He was my lifeline for this world. I don’t know if I’ll make it, and that’s why I’m here because I want to know what happened to my child. I want to know it. I need to know, ”said the 60-year-old’s mother, Shirley Harvey Francis.

She said Harvey was her primary caregiver and her only son.

“He saw that I was eating. He saw that I was taking my medicine. He did everything for me, ”said Francis.

According to the SPD, Harvey took his own life with “an object in his possession” while he was alone in an interview room.

Harvey’s family say he was found hanged. You hired attorney Mawuli Davis to find out how that was even possible.

“Sometimes we know about an interrogation room that it is supposed to be a room in which an interrogation is currently taking place. So that means there should be an officer there, ”said law firm partner Davis Bozeman Johnson.

The case has caught the attention of a few elected Savannah leaders, including Councilors Bernetta Lanier, Alicia Blakely and Kesha Gibson-Carter.

“We will demand transparency. We’re going to demand higher standards within this police department and demand the answers you need, ”Gibson-Carter said on the steps of the police department.

Davis is asking anyone, including police officers who saw Harvey before or during his time in police custody on Saturday, April 3rd, to contact his company.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating Harvey’s death. A spokesperson told News 3 that there are currently no new updates to report in the investigation.