Brandon Johnson's roommate at Mental Health Complex testifies
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A public John Doe investigation has been taking place -- looking into the death of Brandon Johnson -- who died at the Milwaukee County Mental Health facility. On Thursday, April 4th, Johnson's roommate at the facility testified.
Fredrick Williams was Brandon Johnson's roommate when he died in the Mental Health Complex's eating area in October of 2012. During a hearing on Thursday, Williams described how Johnson looked when he entered their room for the first time.
"I seen that he couldn`t walk or help himself. Or nothing like that. He could just lay in the bed -- because when I first got there he was laying in the bed," Williams said.
Williams gave Johnson's family little of what they were hoping for during the hearing in the John Doe investigation into Johnson's death.
"We had inside knowledge that the first day that Brandon was at the Mental Health (facility), there was a code called on him because he was trying to exit out of every door. I don`t think that the right questions are being asked to link to the code being called on him. Because if you think about a code when you`re exiting that means security and he had a broken neck, blunt force trauma to his neck," Johnson's aunt, Kamesha Taylor said.
"There`s all kinds of conjecture. Part of our problem is we have not had access to any of the investigative materials in this case. We have medical records but we haven`t been able to get the reports or records regarding any investigations," Johnson family attorney Jonathan Safran said.
"We want to know what happened to Brandon. He walked in a perfectly healthy young man and then a few days later he`s dead. How did he get a broken neck in two places and a fractured spine?" a family member said.
Once the John Doe investigation is complete, the prosecutors will decide whether charges should be brought in Johnson's death. It is hard to know whether someone else will be called to testify, but the case does appear to be winding down.