The NAACP and Rodrico "Ricco" McLeod’s family are asking for a full investigation into his death. McLeod died of Bacterial Meningitis in the Peoria County Jail sometime overnight, between January first and second.
But McLeod’s family questions what happened after the time he left their South Stanley home in an ambulance to Unity Point Methodist for a splitting headache. McLeod’s cousin Robert Johnson says, “witnesses have told us he groveled on the floor, was put out in the cold, waiting on someone to come and get him. Then he’s transported, to the county jail, by the police, in a paddy wagon and put in cell completely naked, face down. We are not happy and we definitely want some answers to our questions.”
McLeod’s mother says he repeatedly said “my head is killing me” before he asked for the ambulance. The family questions whether he was even treated. They haven’t seen discharge papers.
Peoria NAACP Chapter President Marvin Hightower says they are asking to see all the surveillance videos from the hospital and the jail. “We are calling for an investigation that seeks not blame but acknowledges the duties and responsibilities of the agencies involved so that these series of connected mistakes do not happen again.”
McLeod’s family says he had been arrested previously and also sought care at the ED before. But at the same time, he was a person treated less than humanly. The family is seeking legal council after they lay McLeod to rest. The NAACP is standing with them.