Karl Battiste
Karl Battiste was a 64-year-old Chicagoan who used a cane and had COPD. His family remembers him as the smartest man they knew, a man who loved politics and baseball, waited for his granddaughter after school, and bought suits for the young men in the family each Christmas. He was held pretrial at Cook County Jail during the COVID-19 outbreak and was sent to Stroger Hospital in the days before he died, according to his family and public defender. The Cook County Sheriff's Office reported his death as natural, with COVID-19 pneumonia listed as the cause, and his family says the jail did not adequately protect him and plans a wrongful death suit.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed). The Cook County Sheriff's Office reported natural causes, pneumonia due to COVID-19 with chronic conditions, while his family says the jail did not adequately protect him and plans a wrongful death suit.
Reported by: Cook County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); his family and public defender; county officials.