Albert williamswas worried.Hisson,Stephan
Khadu,wasat Rikers,andnewsofthehorrificcondi-
tionshadreachedhimacrossthecountry inPortland,
Oregon.“Thisshitis unbelievable,”hetoldKhaduwhen
theyspoke next byphone.“IfI wasinjail,I’d bescared.”
Hissonguffawed.“I’mnotinjail,”hesaid,“I’minMiami!”Williams
hadtolaugh—hissonalwaysbattedworry away.Khaduusedthe
samelinetoreassurehismother, Lezandre.“Okay, son,” shesaid,“I’ll
comeandseeyouinMiami.”
Lezandrewas14 whenshehadStephan,thefirstbabyofthegroup.
They calledhimPop,andhetaughtallherfriendshowtoraisekids.He
haddreamsandgrew upina neighborhoodwheretheplacetoexercise
ambitionwasthestreets.He hungaroundwitholderkidsontheedge
ofgangs.Whenhewas16,Lezandrewrotehima noteinpurplepen:
“Y ouaretrulyhurtingme.I try my best, butmy best wasnotenough.”
InDecember 20 19,Khaduwasarrestedina gang-conspiracy
case—oneina seriesthat districtattorneyshavebroughtrecently,
whichsomearguehooveruptoomany ontoolittleevidence.That
night,Lezandrewalkeddowna courtroomhallway, passingroom
afterroomoffacessheknew:boyswhomshehadwatchedgrow
mustaches,whosleptonhercouch,whomshefed.Whenshefound
herson,helookedherintheeyeandsaid,“I’mokay.”
ThestatesaidKhaduwaspart oftheBrickSquadgang—oneof
tenpeoplenamedina 48-countindictmentforconspiracytocom-
mitmurderandselldrugs.Khaduawaitedtrialat Rikersinto2021.
Ascovidspread,hesawthat lifewasgettingharderforeveryone.
“Themofficersarepeopletoo,” Khadutoldhismother. “Theymight
workfourtours.Theymightnotgetlunch.Theymightnotevenuse
thebathroom.”
Thatspring,hewastransferredto“theBoat”—afloatingjaildocked
nearbycalledtheVernonC.BainCorrectionalCenter. Khaduhadwhat
appearedtobea seizurethere.His friendsfoundhimdazedandbloody
frombitinghistongue.Whenthey triedtoget help,therewas
someothercommotionintheunit,andofficersblastedit with
pepperspray.Khaduendedupona gurney at LincolnHos-
pital,limp,onesockdarkwithdirt asif he’d beendragged.
Khadureturnedtojaila few dayslater.He playedbasket-
ballintherecyardontheBoat’s toplevel,andhetoldhisfam-
ilyhewasgettingbetter.Byhis24thbirthday,onSeptember
11,it seemedlike Popwasback.Ona videocall,Lezandrewas
delightedtoseehe’d gottena haircut.“Youlooklike some-
bodylovesyouagain,” shesaid.
OnSeptember21,Khadutoldhisgirlfriendhewasn’t feel-
ingwell.Shepushedhimtoputina sickcall.“Theyalways
thinkwe’rejoking,sothey nevertake us,” hesaid.He hadhis
finalseizurethenextmorning.Twopeoplesay hewasalive
whenofficerscalledforhelp.It tookanhourand 41 minutesforthe
medicalteamtoarrive,navigatethebrokenelevator,andtransport
Khadutothehospital.At10:55a.m., hewaspronounceddead.The
medicalexaminerwouldeventuallyfindKhadudiedfromlymphocytic
meningitis,which,properlytreated,is rarelyfatal.“He hadsomany
medicalproblems,” a manincarceratedonthebarge tolda legal-aid
group.“He should’veneverbeenhere.”IT TOOK AN HOUR
AND 41 MINUTES FOR
THE MEDICAL TEAM
TO ARRIVE, NAVIGATE
THE BROKEN
ELEVATOR, AND
TRANSPORT KHADU
TO THE HOSPITAL.
STEPHAN KHADU, 24SEPTEMBER 22Khadu with his daughter in 2019.PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF DHUHA ABDUL-KARIM (ABDUL-KARIM); COURTESY OF LEZANDRE KHADU (KHADU)