He was undocumented. He came to the U.S. when he was 17. He was from Brazil and immigrated through Mexico. He spoke English.
He went into a coma shortly after being arrested on Friday and died 5 days later of a heart attack? Hopefully the ACLU or some other human rights organization checks this out.
His name was Maxsuel Madeiros.
He was a passenger in his own car; a friend was driving. They were stopped for an illegal lane change? Isn't that one of the charges that police use to have an excuse to stop someone? They said he had 2 state warrants against him, but haven't said what they are. His cousin was picked up a few months ago...but at least he is still alive.
One more thing. You know how some news programs have a list of those who died in Iraq - usually with pictures? Maybe we should ask Univision to start a list of those undocumented who died in police or ICE custody. This could be called the Immigration War.
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Man dies after falling ill in police custody
He was Brazilian immigrant; cause of death unknown
By Maria Sacchetti and Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | September 12, 2007
An immigrant from Brazil, stricken with an unknown illness while in State Police custody on Friday, died yesterday at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Essex district attorney's office reported.
Maxsuel Medeiros, 25, a roofer who lived in Framingham, was a passenger in a car State Police stopped for a lane change violation at 5:20 p.m. Friday on Interstate 495 south in Andover, according to the district attorney's office.
Police said they had varying identities for Medeiros, including Maxeel Campos and Maxwell Pires, and arrested Medeiros after determining that he had two outstanding state warrants. They brought him to the Andover barracks and placed him in a cell, said Stephen O'Connell, spokesman for the Essex district attorney's office. The nature of the warrants was unknown yesterday.
Later that evening, he became ill while in his cell, according to O'Connell and State Police. Police called an ambulance, which transported him to Lawrence General Hospital. He was later taken to Mass. General, where he died at 6 a.m. yesterday.
The death marks the second time in about a month a Brazilian immigrant from Massachusetts has died in the region while in police custody. On Aug. 7, Edimar Alves Araujo, 34, of Milford died shortly after Woonsocket, R.I., police stopped him on a traffic violation and turned him over to federal immigration authorities. He fell ill while in federal custody in Rhode Island, and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
His death, under investigation by the state medical examiner in Rhode Island, sparked outrage because his sister, Irene, said she had tried to get the police to give her brother his epilepsy medicine. Police denied her account and said Araujo was fine when they turned him over to federal authorities.
Medeiros was undocumented, having entered the United States through Mexico about eight years ago, his aunt, Meire Medeiros, said yesterday, speaking in Portuguese during a telephone interview from her Framingham home. "He came here to have a better life,"she said. Medeiros lived in Framingham with another aunt, Maisa Hamel.
Medeiros immersed himself in this country's culture, relatives said. He learned English, listened to hip-hop, and played video games in his spare time. He worked for a Framingham roofing company, and planned to attend the Mexico vs. Brazil soccer match at Gillette Stadium today. He owned the red 1990 Acura Legend that police stopped Saturday. The car was being driven by a friend.
Meire Medeiros, 51, said she has another nephew, Lucas, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month in Framingham and is scheduled for deportation.
She said the family found out on Saturday that Maxsuel suffered what appeared to be a heart attack and was in a coma. Officials at Mass. General contacted Medeiros's mother, who lives in Brazil, and told her that her son was brain dead. With permission granted by his mother, Maxsuel was removed from life support. The family decided to donate his organs.
"He never had any problems with his health; he was a young man," said Meire Medeiros.
The state medical examiner's office plans to conduct an autopsy today, and the district attorney's office will investigate, O'Connell said. State Police refused to release the police report yesterday because the matter is under investigation.
Globe correspondent Eduardo A. de Oliveira contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/12/man_dies_after_falling_ill_in_police_custody/
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