Tell-It Report: Postal Worker Died in Jail After Police Mistook Stroke for Drug Impairment, Lawsuit Says
Camera footage shows Kingsley Bimpong convulsing on the ground in his cell as cops ignored him.
In Gullah Geechee communities, a “tell-it” was a designated lookout, community warning system and the most trusted source for news and information. The Tell-It Report is ContrabandCamp’s weekly roundup of the Black stories that deserve more attention — from politics to entertainment.
A Minnesota postal worker died having a stroke in jail instead of being taken to the hospital because authorities believed him to be under the influence of drugs, according to a federal lawsuit filed by his family.
A judge denied Tyesha Long’s request for a resentencing under the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act five years after killing her ex-boyfriend she claimed was abusive towards her.
Turning Point USA’s Blexit group is currently touring HBCUs during homecoming season.
Read the full stories below:
Lawsuit claims Minnesota postal worker died in jail after cops believed a stroke to be drug use
Kingsley Bimpong was suffering from a massive stroke when he was arrested on Nov. 16. But instead of taking him to the hospital, officers ignored his condition and mistook it for drug impairment, according to an investigative report from KARE 11.
Now, a federal lawsuit is claiming that the arresting officers failed to do a proper screening to determine whether the 50-year-old was having health complications or symptoms from drug use. The 72-page complaint also says that the jail staff left Bimpong to lie in his own urine, helpless on the floor. In fact, the guards reported that Bimpong was OK during their routine checks.
Bimpong’s family is seeking $120 million in damages as well as attorney fees. They claim that the defendants — which include three officers, seven correctional officers and Dakota County — violated Bimpong’s civil rights under the Eighth and 14th Amendments. In the complaint, they are also seeking to hold Dakota County accountable for the “deliberate indifference” of jail medical contractors and for failing to train corrections officers to recognize a medical emergency.
“This is one of the worst jail deaths we’ve ever seen,” the family’s attorney Katie Bennett told KARE 11.
Bimpong, a permanent legal U.S. resident born in Ghana, had just left his shift at the Eagan Postal Distribution Center. Cops saw him driving on the wrong side of the road and pulled him over. Police footage shows Bimpong appearing extremely confused, unable to say where he lived or worked.
Martin Jensen, an officer specially trained to assess whether individuals are impaired or suffering from a medical emergency, was called to the scene. But audio from a bodycam picked up Jensen stating that the assessment would be “a whole bunch of time wasted,” the local outlet reports. When asked if they should take him to the hospital, Jensen responded, “For what?”
Bimpong was brought into custody for a suspected DWI. For three hours, he laid in distress on the floor of a holding cell in Dakota County Jail as multiple guards walked by. Assuming he was overdosing, a jail nurse administered Narcan three times after a female guard reported that he was foaming at the mouth and having seizure-like activity. His blood pressure spiked to life-threatening levels by the time paramedics arrived.
According to Kare 11, tests showed Bimpong had a massive brain bleed that caused the brain’s stem to squeeze out of the bottom of his skull. A toxicology report also showed that he had no traces of drugs or alcohol in his system. He was confirmed brain dead on Nov. 18 removed from life support the next day.
In a statement, Vicki Hruby, attorney for the city of Eagan, told the Minnesota Reformer that Bimpong didn’t show signs of experiencing a medical emergency when he was arrested.
“While Mr. Bimpong’s death is tragic, he was not exhibiting an objectively serious medical condition that was obvious to lay persons at the time he was in the Eagan officers’ custody and there [was] no indication that he required emergent medical treatment,” the statement read.
Rep. Jess Hanson told KSTP that the Hardel Sherrell Act, which helped reform medical care in correctional facilities and jails, should’ve helped save Bimpong’s life.
“In Kingsley’s case, this was health care he should’ve gotten prior to entering custody, so there is a whole spectrum of places where we need to make changes,” she said. “No one should go to jail or custody worried they’re not going to leave with their life or that they’re going to leave permanently disabled.”
An Oklahoma woman is denied resentencing under new Survivors’ Act
A woman convicted of killing her boyfriend in self-defense has been seeking a lesser sentence under the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act. However, a judge denied her request for a resentencing on Tuesday.
In 2020, Tyesha Long, then 21, shot and killed Ray Long, her 55-year-old boyfriend, at a Bricktown hotel. She was sentenced to 27 years in prison and has spent the last three behind bars. In September, Long asked Oklahoma County District Judge Susan Stallings to reconsider her case under the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act.
Under the law, passed in late 2024, allows courts to revisit sentences for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. In January, Lisa Moss, who spent 34 years incarcerated, was the first woman freed under the act. Long had hoped that she, too, would see freedom through the new law.
Long accused her ex-boyfriend of repeatedly punching, strangling and raping her, according to KFOR. Witnesses testified to seeing threatening text messages Brown had sent Long. Long met Brown, who was 53 at the time, when she was 17. According to Capital B, Long’s attorney showed the judge photos of bruises on her neck and how Brown throwing her down a flight of stairs led to a miscarriage. This evidence was not shown during the initial trial.
The state argued that both parties were abusive. Judge Stallings agreed with the state, saying “regarding the domestic abuse occurring during her relationship with Ray Brown have differed on every occasion she has either been interviewed on the subject or given testimony under oath.”
Long’s attorney Colleen McCarty told KFOR that they “respectfully disagree” with the decision and intend to appeal.
“The record contains extensive, corroborated documented evidence of threats, strangulation, coercive control, and a long pattern of abuse,” the statement read. “Our clients should not be excessively punished for surviving. The Legislature created the Survivors’ Act so courts could recognize how abuse shapes conduct. We will pursue all available avenues—beginning with an appeal—to secure sentencing relief for Ms. Long and continue fighting for the dignity and safety of criminalized survivors across Oklahoma.”
Turning Point USA group Blexit to visit HBCUs during homecoming season
An umbrella group operating under Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA is planning a tour of historically Black colleges and universities as homecoming season kicks off.
Blexit, a conservative group founded by Candace Owens that calls for Black constituents to leave the Democratic Party, is heading to Howard University, Bowie State University, among other schools for its “Educate to Liberate” tour.
The tour kicked off on Sept. 25 at Johnson C. Smith University and ends on Oct. 31 at Lincoln University. Students and alumni have pushed back on the group’s forthcoming presence during a time meant for celebration and fellowship.
“Nobody told y’all to come here, and that means nobody wanted y’all to be here,” a Bowie State student told NBC Washington. “So why are you over here trying to start all of this drama? Because they know that’s what’s going to happen.”
A representative from Bowie State said that they have not received a space request for Blexit’s event on campus.
“The university is a public institution open to members of the community. All visitors must respect and follow campus policies and protocols, including refraining from activities that disrupt university operations,” the statement read.
Both Bowie State and Howard have said that they will increase security during homecoming.
Blexit was originally coined by Me’Lea Connelly in 2016 after the police killing of Philando Castile. It was originally meant for a grassroots movement that promoted economic independence amongst the Black community. Owens co-opted the term for Black conservatives in 2018.
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