City Council - Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee Hearing on Docket #0870

Executive Summary

On October 26, 2026, the Boston City Council Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice held an oversight hearing on Docket #0870 regarding in-custody deaths and systemic mistreatment at the Suffolk County House of Correction (South Bay) and Nashua Street Jail. Chaired by Councilor Henry Santana, the hearing addressed the death of Shakobi Kenny, which was ruled a homicide following physical restraint by correctional officers, as well as more than 20 custodial deaths over the past five years. Testifiers highlighted severe issues including prohibited chokeholds, lack of medical care, sexual assault, and retaliation, while expressing sharp disappointment over the absence of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. Councilors and advocates examined potential reforms, including utilizing council subpoena powers, ending the central booking agreement between the Boston Police Department and the Sheriff's Department, shifting lower-level misdemeanors and ordinance violations from arrests to summonses, and creating independent civilian oversight.

Order for a hearing to examine the circumstances surrounding in custody deaths at the Suffolk County House of Correction (Docket #0870) - Opening Statements

Chair Henry Santana called the meeting to order at 2:18 p.m. and emphasized the council's oversight responsibilities, stating that a single in-custody death, guard brutality, or deprivation of food and healthcare is unacceptable.
Lead sponsor Councilor Miniard Culpepper highlighted that over 20 people have died in Suffolk County correctional custody in the past five years, underscoring the urgency following the December 7, 2025 death of Shakobi Kenny, which was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner due to physical restraint. Culpepper condemned the use of prohibited chokeholds and expressed severe disappointment that the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department failed to appear or facilitate virtual testimony from detained individuals. He called for a re-examination of the October 2023 central booking memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Boston Police Department (BPD) and the Sheriff's Department.
Co-sponsor Councilor Julia Mejia noted that the city pays $150 per person per day to house individuals at the Sheriff's Department before arraignment and stressed that councilors must exercise oversight, accountability, and partnership with advocates.
Councilor Erin Murphy expressed disappointment that neither the Sheriff's Department nor administration officials attended, noting a recurring pattern across recent hearings.
Councilor Edward Flynn conveyed condolences to the Kenny family, stressed the need for transparency and an end to violence, and noted that 99% of incarcerated individuals eventually return to their neighborhoods.
Councilor John Fitzgerald urged a full review of policies and processes that allow loss of life in custody.
Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune noted that being in custody does not deprive an individual of humanity or constitutional rights, praised State Senator Liz Miranda for demanding state investigations, and cited the heightened duty of care the government owes to those who cannot seek independent medical care.
Councilor Benjamin Weber pointed out that Shakobi Kenny was held on a $2,500 bail in pretrial detention without conviction, decrying the systemic injustice and reported witness intimidation by correctional staff.
A letter of absence was noted for Council President Liz Breadon.

Testimony Read on Behalf of Incarcerated Individuals and Impacted Family Members

A member of the public read written testimony from Kelsey DiBeo, an individual incarcerated at MCI-Framingham who previously spent over two years at South Bay. DiBeo reported being violently restrained and subjected to wrist-bending by the Sheriff's Emergency Response Team (SERT) after an accidental incident in 2021, resulting in permanent wrist damage confirmed by an MRI, and advocated for raising hiring standards and psychological training for corrections officers.
A member of the public read testimony on behalf of Abiyon Sharp, detailing the enduring familial trauma and hostile visiting conditions experienced when visiting an incarcerated brother at South Bay in the mid-2000s, citing rumors of beatings in the elevator known as the "Hellevator."
A member of the public testified regarding their partner's mentally ill brother facing pretrial detention and called for ending the BPD central booking contract with the Sheriff's Department.
A member of the public read testimony from Ava Najafi, incarcerated at MCI-Framingham, recounting South Bay experiences from 2022 to 2024: an elderly woman being denied medication, beaten, and dropped onto a bunk; an officer sexually harassing detainees, instigating a fight, and assaulting Najafi near a camera blind spot; an officer repeatedly kneeling on the abdomen of a four-month-pregnant woman having a mental health crisis; and an officer engaging in sexual acts with her cellmate.
A member of the public read an anonymous statement from an individual detained between South Bay and Nashua Street from 2022 to 2025 detailing widespread abuse of authority, sexual assault, and drug distribution by staff.
A member of the public read testimony from Joseph R. Dyer, currently housed at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC), alleging that medical staff and guards at South Bay disregarded severe cuts and infection caused by over-tightened leg restraints, leading to sepsis, five surgeries, and 40 days of hospitalization without contact with family.
A member of the public testified on behalf of her son, an incarcerated individual transferred between South Bay and Nashua Street, reporting beatings, excessive solitary confinement, racial profiling, and a retaliatory cell search that day prior to his court appearance.

Panel Presentation: Civil Rights, Legal Services, and Community Advocates

Drusilla Brown, mother of Shakobi Kenny:
- Testified that her 32-year-old son, who had mental illness, was killed by correctional officers at South Bay, with his death ruled a homicide.
- Stated that the officers involved remain employed on the taxpayer payroll and have not faced accountability.
- Demanded independent external oversight, emphasizing that the Sheriff's Department cannot investigate itself.
Jasmine Borges, Director of Organizing for the Massachusetts Bail Fund:
- Stated that the officers involved in Kenny's death collectively earn upwards of $900,000 annually while the Sheriff's Department's 2025 budget exceeded $130 million.
- Reported that 47 people died in jails across Massachusetts between 2021 and 2025 (25 awaiting trial and 22 sentenced), reading the names of individuals who died in custody, including 15 in Suffolk County.
- Presented community demands: use council subpoena powers; demand a civil rights investigation into South Bay, Nashua Street, and BPD precincts; terminate the officers involved in Kenny's homicide; end central booking and dissolve BPD's contract with the Sheriff's Department; rescind the city's tent encampment ban; end police warrant sweeps; and invest in low-threshold housing, harm reduction, and voluntary treatment.
Katie Naples-Mitchell, Justice Policy Counsel at the ACLU of Massachusetts:
- Highlighted that as of October 1, over 50% of the Suffolk County jail population was Black, and 67% of detained individuals were held pretrial without conviction.
- Noted that from January 1 to July 31, 2026, over 1,500 people were admitted through the central booking agreement.
- Outlined conditions leading to jail mortality: medical neglect, delayed treatment for chronic diseases, lack of overdose supervision, excessive use of force, and a retaliatory culture where staff display license plate covers labeling South Bay the "House of Corruption."
- Recommended city council actions: direct BPD to issue summonses instead of making arrests for municipal violations and low-level misdemeanors carrying penalties of 100 days or less, and leverage the central booking MOU to condition funding on oversight, retraining, and document production.
David Rini, Executive Director of Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts (PLS):
- Reported on the PLS investigation into Kenny's death, noting the medical examiner determined the cause of death was hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy resulting from cardiac arrest during physical restraint by officers.
- Disclosed findings from 30 interviews indicating officers routinely used prohibited chokeholds, knelt on necks and upper backs, struck detainees with handcuff keys wrapped around knuckles, and used severe wrist-bending resulting in fractures after detainees were handcuffed and compliant.
- Rebutted the Sheriff's Department's public assertions that the involved officers were moved to non-contact posts, noting department records indicate they remained involved in active use-of-force incidents.
- Urged the council to insist on an external investigation, staff suspension, elimination of camera blind spots, and subpoenaing records.
Mallory Hanora, Co-Director of Families for Justice as Healing (testifying virtually):
- Traced the history of abuses since the 2019 transfer of women from MCI-Framingham to South Bay, where women experienced reduced out-of-cell time and lack of fresh air.
- Criticized former proposals for in-jail courtrooms and the framing of jails as providers of social care or housing.
- Called for decarceration, an end to tent sweeps, and closing South Bay entirely.
Genevieve Madabushi, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Bail Fund:
- Expressed outrage at the absence of both the Sheriff's Department and BPD.
- Explained that the Bail Fund posts bail for up to 700 people annually in Suffolk County (accounting for 50% of its statewide bails), largely for "crimes of survival" such as trespassing, shoplifting under $250, breaking and entering, and loitering.
- Denounced the criminalization of unhoused individuals and the use of the city's tent ban to disperse and arrest campus student protesters in 2024.
Cassie Hurd, Executive Director of the Material Aid and Advocacy Program (MAAP):
- Critiqued the city's encampment ban, warrant sweeps, and "addiction-first" police practices that force unhoused individuals into involuntary detention.
- Highlighted Massachusetts Department of Public Health data indicating that individuals subjected to involuntary civil commitment are more likely to suffer fatal overdoses than those in voluntary treatment.
- Condemned the closure of the Atkinson Street Engagement Center and the defunding of the harm-reduction needle buyback program in favor of business-district-run initiatives.

Council Questions and Discussion on Policy and Oversight

Councilor Culpepper inquired about eliminating cash bail; Katie Naples-Mitchell explained state models, noting that without statutory protections, eliminating cash bail can inadvertently increase detention through pretrial conditions violations, bail revocations, and default warrants. Culpepper requested draft legislative proposals from the ACLU focusing on eliminating arrests for city ordinance violations and low-level misdemeanors carrying 100 days or less.
Councilor Mejia and panelists discussed the lack of independent oversight bodies for Massachusetts county correctional facilities, comparing the gap to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission for municipal police. Mejia pledged to collaborate with Culpepper on an independent oversight structure and urged advocates to partner on public records requests to force document disclosures.
David Rini emphasized that the council should partner with legal advocates to challenge the Sheriff's Department's failure to respond to public records requests.
Councilor Louijeune questioned jurisdictional authorities regarding civil rights investigations; Naples-Mitchell clarified that while the Attorney General's Criminal Division is currently reviewing Kenny's death, the Civil Rights Division could investigate patterns and practices of excessive force.
Councilor Weber questioned whether South Bay represents an outlier in brutality compared to other facilities; panelists noted that detainees consider South Bay's culture uniquely violent compared even to state supermax facilities like SBCC.

Out-of-Order Public Comment: In-Custody Injury Incident

A member of the public testified out of order regarding her daughter, who has bipolar disorder and was arrested on October 6 on a warrant following social media posts. The testifier stated that correctional officers kicked her daughter, stripped and cut her dress off with scissors, and left her naked on a bare mattress for multiple days without water. When the daughter reported that she could not move her leg, officers dismissed her complaints until she was sent to Boston Medical Center for emergency surgery for a broken hip and broken leg that required surgical pins, before being transferred to Lemuel Shattuck Hospital.

General Public Testimony

A member of the public from Jamaica Plain who greets released individuals at South Bay described observing severe medical neglect, denial of dialysis and psychiatric medication, and an overarching culture of trauma.
A volunteer with civic engagement programs inside South Bay testified to witnessing officers use excessive restraint by severely twisting an individual's wrist to near breaking.
A community organizer emphasized that Kenny's death was ruled a homicide, urged councilors not to accept jurisdictional excuses, and demanded the immediate release of unredacted video footage, a binding municipal in-custody death protocol, and an audit of pretrial diversion funds.
An educator and Dorchester resident criticized council engagement and the absence of the Sheriff's Department.
A volunteer contractor inside Suffolk County facilities summarized written input from 10 incarcerated individuals reporting pest infestations, lack of recreation, disabled tablets preventing outside communication, and guard hostility.
A community health organizer with Fenway Health argued that mass incarceration profits off marginalized individuals, criticized the handling of the Mass and Cass area, and called for the use of opioid settlement funds for healthcare interventions rather than incarceration.
A member of the public from Jamaica Plain highlighted that four people per year on average have died at the Suffolk County House of Correction over the last five years and condemned the lack of transparent public data.
A volunteer attorney with the Massachusetts Bail Fund urged councilors to mobilize the nine votes needed to pass binding reforms, eliminate central booking, and protect detainees' Eighth Amendment rights.
A resident testified virtually criticizing Lieutenant Andres Lopez, an officer named in connection with Shakobi Kenny's death, noting city payroll records showed he received $222,759 in total compensation including over $106,000 in overtime, and demanded his suspension.
A testifier virtually examined excessive overtime among correctional officers, noting Lieutenant Lopez had accrued 46 hours of overtime per bi-weekly pay period, and warned of the severe safety impacts of staff fatigue.
A formerly incarcerated speaker testified virtually regarding dehumanizing treatment and privacy violations of legal discovery documents at South Bay.
The Executive Director of Project Turnaround testified virtually, recalling 26 years of documented abuses at South Bay, detailing medical neglect faced by currently detained individuals, and demanding that formerly incarcerated people be included in oversight and policy formulation.
Chair Santana adjourned the hearing on Docket #0870.