Soso Ramishvili, a 32-year-old man, was found unresponsive in a holding cell at Brooklyn Criminal Court on March 21. As the NYPD investigates his death, the Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defenders claim he suffered in custody for three days, pleading for medical help without receiving adequate care. Police, however, assert he was taken to the hospital multiple times, only to be returned to custody. Ramishvili had been arrested on March 18 for shoplifting and other charges but never reached arraignment before his death.
In a joint statement, the Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defenders alleged that Ramishvili had been allowed to languish "in pain in custody for three days and was deprived of medical care despite repeated pleas from defense lawyers and other personnel to secure them needed care."
Police sources, on the other hand, report that Ramishvili was not denied medical attention and was taken to the hospital multiple times over a three-day period but was ultimately released back into their custody by doctors following the visits.
Ramishvili had been arrested on March 18 in the confines of the 63rd Precinct on charges of petit larceny, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance after he reportedly shoplifted from a Home Depot store in Mill Basin.
A spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said they had no information about what happened to Ramishvili, as the case never reached the point of arraignment.
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