Raymond Bonnette Sr.
Raymond Bonnette Sr. was a father of four and the grandson of activist Khadijah Rashad, who has spent decades working on law enforcement reform in the area. He died on July 21, 2020, in the Iberia Parish jail in Louisiana. The sheriff's department told his family that he had taken his own life in his cell. On the first anniversary of his death, his family filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff, a former warden, unnamed officers and medical staff, and Iberia Parish government, saying jail staff failed to provide him adequate medical care. His family questions whether his death was a suicide or a cover-up.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The family's federal lawsuit says Iberia Parish jail staff failed to provide adequate medical care and that the death was a cover-up by the sheriff's department, not a suicide.
Reported by: Iberia Parish jail (the agency that held him); his family's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal lawsuit over his death in the Iberia Parish jail, naming the sheriff and a former warden.