Kendrick Johnson's Death: Questions Linger for His Family

Hundreds of hours of surveillance video of the high school where Kendrick Johnson mysteriously died have only served to raise more questions, reports show. Suggested Reading The Root 100 – 2020 Black History Month – 2022 Hip-Hop 50 Year – 2023 Video will return here when scrolled back into view Stefon Diggs and Cardi B…

Hundreds of hours of surveillance video of the high school where Kendrick Johnson mysteriously died have only served to raise more questions, reports show.

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Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach

Benjamin Crump, the familyโ€™s attorney, says they are "troubled" by a number of issues, including the lack of time-stamps on the video, but they are most worried about the video of the gymnasium where their son was found dead, rolled up inside of a gym mat, MSNBC reports.

"Out of the 36 camerasโ€”thatโ€™s 36 anglesโ€”all of them are vivid and clear, except the one that is pointed to the wrestling mats, that corner where Kendrick was found dead," Crump told the Rev. Al Sharpton on Fridayโ€™sย PoliticsNation. "That is the only one that is blurry, that is the only one that is distorted."

But in an interview with NBC News, Lt. Stryde Jones of the Valdosta, Ga., sheriffโ€™s office explained that the camera footage is blurry because it may have been damaged by a ball at some point. Further, he explained that there is no video of Johnsonโ€™s body going inside the mat because the device is motion activated and the mat was beyond its range.ย 

Law enforcement officials in the Georgia town where Johnson was found dead have always contended that the death was accidental. But his parents were suspicious from the start, raising doubts that the athletic Johnson could have died that way. An autopsy report by theย Georgia Bureau of Investigations ruled that he suffocated inside a gym mat after he fell into it while retrieving a shoe.

But Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watsonย slammed the initial investigation, saying he was not notified about it until about 4 p.m., more than six hours after the body was discovered.

"It just goes to show more disrespect to my family, what the sheriffโ€™s department have done to us," Kendrickโ€™s father, Kenneth, said on Fridayโ€™sย PoliticsNation. "They treated Kendrick like he wasnโ€™t even human."

Read more at MSNBC.

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