Jumaane Williams
Role at the time: Public Advocate of New York City, in a post from his office's X account
Statement summary
The Public Advocate's office said that in a humane world an alleged shoplifting would not result in sudden death, that it would monitor the inquiry into Vincent Thoms's death in custody, and that the city must urgently act to ensure the safety of everyone in custody.
“In a humane world, alleged shoplifting would not result in sudden death. We will continue to monitor the inquiry into Vincent Thoms' death in custody. With a new administration in place, the City must urgently move to ensure the safety of all in custody.”
Post on the official X account of New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams's office, sharing a Daily News report on Thoms's death.
Why we used this label
The reference point is whether the NYPD and the city are failing people who fall ill in police custody. The Public Advocate's office says that in a humane world "alleged shoplifting would not result in sudden death" and that the city "must urgently move to ensure the safety of all in custody". That treats Thoms's death as a failure to keep people in custody safe, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, which would fit a call to wait for the inquiry; the post also demands urgent action.