New York Magazine - USA (2022-01-03)

B

randonrodriguezcame

intotheworldloud,loving

at tentionandhatingtobeleft

alone.As hegrew up, he

wouldserenadehismother,

Tamara Carter,withrenditionsofMaryJ.

Blige;hewouldclaimwitha straightface

thatit wasa mousethat hadeatenhalfof

thatLouisianacrunchcake.

Brandonlivedinthat upbeat place

muchofthetime,buthecouldalsobot-

tomout.His elementary schoollabeled

him“emotionallydisturbed.”(Later,doc-

torswouldcallit ADHDandbipolardis-

order.) Carter,theninher20s,struggled

tohandlehismoodswings,gettinglittle

helpfromdoctorsandcounselors.The

familymovedfromtheBronxtothesub-

urbs,lookingforquiet andbetterschools.

ButBrandonpreferredtostayinthe

Bronxwithhisauntandgrandmother.

He’dvisithisgreat love,a cat named

Nana,at thehomeof hisbest friendKrys-

tal.If he’d beenvagabonding,she’d wash

hisclothes,thenbringhimthephone

andsay, “Callyourmom.”

In August 2014,whenRodriguez

was18,he wasarrestedforreasons

thatremainunderseal.Whilehewas

incustody,hishealthcollapsed:His

speechslurred,hisfacedrooped,andhe

dropped 20 poundsintwoweeks.Diag-

nosedwithmultiplesclerosis,henever

stoodquitestraightagain.ThatDecem-

ber, hewastransferredtoRikersIsland.

TheJusticeDepartmenthadrecently

completedaninvestigationfindingthat

violenceinRikers’sadolescentjailwas

sopervasiveit violatedtheConstitution.

OnJanuary1, 2015,sixmembersofthe

PatriagangassaultedRodriguez,stab-

binghim 18 times.

HeleftNewYorkinhisearly20s,

hopingtoturnthingsaround.In Indi-

ana,hegota caranda silverpitbull

withblueeyes.Next:Pennsylvania.

Oneday in2021,hecalledCarterwith

a catchinhisvoice,andsheconvinced

himtocomehome.Shecookedhim

everythingheaskedfor, buthewastoo

sicktokeepanythingdown.Soonhe

wasinthehospital,FaceTimingfrom

hisbedwithKrystal,whohada baby

boy—his“nephew,”hecalledhim.

Rodriguezwanteda familyofhisown.

Hetookupwitha womanhemet on

Facebook,butinAugust,

hewasarrestedondomes-

tic-violencecharges. He

landedbackat Rikers.A

manjumpedRodriguezin

theintake pen,fracturing

hiseyesocketandsending

himtothehospital.Medi-

calrecords should have

notedhisillness,howeasily

hisbodycouldgive,buthewasreturned

totheisland.He barelyslept,a stressthat

surelycausedhisMStoflare.Oneday,

Rodriguezwasroughedupbytheguards

afterhewouldn’t complywithaninstruc-

tion.Eventhoughthecity hadrecently

bannedsolitary confinement,officers

tookRodrigueztoanisolatedareaofthe

jailandlockedhimina crampedshower

cell—unofficialsegregationwithoutany

rulesorregulations.That’swherehe

wrappedhisT-shirtaroundhisneck.

Carterwantedtoholdontothelit-

tleshehadofherson.Shetriedtoget

hisphoneback—shewantedtopay

thebillsoshecouldkeeptextinghim

evenif hecouldn’t respond—untilshe

learnedtheDepartmentofCorrection

haddestroyedhisproperty.Rodriguez’s

deathissomethingCarterstillcan’t

square.“Ifwhat they’resayingistrue,

thathetookhisownlife,what didyou

guysdotohim?”sheasks.Sheinsists he

wasn’t suicidal.Severalpeoplefamiliar

withthecaseagree.Rodriguezdidn’t

arrivewantingtoendhislife.Rikers

tookhimthere.

BRANDON

RODRIGUEZ, 25

AUGUST 10

BrandonRodriguez

PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF TAMARA CARTER (RODRIGUEZ)

SHE’D WASH

HIS CLOTHES,

THEN BRING

HIM THE PHONE

AND SAY, “CALL

YOUR MOM.”

22 new york | january 3–16, 2022