Family will Press Charges against Police

Audrey Matura-Shepherd

Up until late Wednesday afternoon, police officers conducted a search at the Willoughby’s residence at 7005 Antelope Street Extension. Attorney Audrey Matura-Shepherd says that they have made formal complaint to the Professional Standards Branch and intend to press charges against the officers for injuries her client has sustained.

Audrey Matura-Shepherd, Attorney for Willoughby Family

“My clients are saying that if they know anything about Emmanuel they would encourage him strongly to please give in himself and I am prepared to take him in once he makes contact with me. Or anyone who knows where he is, please make contact with his family, we are prepared to take him in because we don’t want the police to hurt him because if at this point, as early as yesterday, what one of the prison wardens did was to put a gun to my client’s head. I mean give me a break, they don’t know where he is. And even if they know where he is, you have a right to question them, but you don’t have the right to put any gun at the head of anyone you pick up. So that’s where we start. Emmanuel escapes from prison and since then, everyday prison wardens and police, especially GSU come to this house. The people say they are willing to cooperate; they can come and search—they know that they don’t have him here—but what they cannot deal with is the fact that they pick up the young men from the home, take them beat them up release them and today, the most recent one, they picked up the minor. I went to every precinct to ask for him. He was not at any precinct. He was already picked up over an hour by the time I was around. I made certain calls and said that I will search for him myself. Little after that we heard that he was released. Now this is a minor; you had to have informed the parents what you are doing with him, you can’t question him without an adult being present and you can’t even just drive around with him. You need to take him to a police station. Yesterday when they picked up the other brother, they beat him then they released him. They are upset because I said the family is saying that they are tired of it…so we made an official complaint. We’ve made a complaint against the prison wardens and we want criminal charges against them. They beat my client, he could identify them, he knows them by name. Today they picked up the minor, we will make another complaint because the Professional Standard Branch has got to know what is happening.”

Emmanuel was incarcerated for the Possession of Unlicensed Firearm and was serving a five-year sentence which he would have completed on December eleventh, 2017.  His sibling, Julian Willoughby, was killed in March of this year.