When Matthew Ajibade moved to Savannah three years ago, he wasted no time. The Nigerian native, who emigrated to the US at an early age, enrolled at art school, worked two jobs and even started a fashion line.

“He wanted the best of everything,” said his friend JoJo Jones. “He wanted to be really successful. He wanted to be really rich. He wanted the American Dream.”

But on New Year’s Day, the 21-year-old’s dreams came to a tragic end. Savannah-Chatham metropolitan police officers, who had arrested him during what is believed to have been a manic bipolar disorder episode, transported him to the Chatham County jail. Ajibade died in restraints, inside an isolation cell.

Ajibade’s family and friends say they have received no answers about why he did not receive mental health treatment or what caused his death.

“We’re not upset about his death, per se,” said Chris Oladapo, Ajibade’s cousin who brought him to Georgia. “Matthew lived more than anyone else we know.

“We want to know why. This kid was killed at the hands of the people supposed to protect him. They’ve taken all the time to protect themselves.”

On 4 June, a portion of Ajibade’s death certificate was leaked by an unknown source. The complete document, which the Guardian obtained from an Ajibade family lawyer, ruled his death a homicide due to blunt-force trauma.

The leak of the death certificate, which was signed on 8 May, sparked demands for information. However, Chatham County sheriff’s office last month fired nine deputies after an internal investigation. Two others were terminated for unrelated policy violations. One deputy retired, without providing an explanation.

Florida-based criminal attorney Mark O’Mara, who represented George Zimmerman during the Trayvon Martin murder trial and now works with the Ajibade family, blasted Chatham County district attorney Meg Heap for failing to share her findings, given that the Ajibade family learned about the death certificate through social media and press reports.

“In a time of civility, common sense and respect, they should’ve contacted me and said: ‘Here’s what we have and here’s how we got it,’” O’Mara said. “They wouldn’t give us the common courtesy about how Matthew died. That’s disgusting.”

‘He wasn’t an animal, he wasn’t a beast’

The Ajibade family’s search for answers started soon after his arrest on 1 January. Around 6.15pm, officers arrived at a gas station across the street from Ajibade’s apartment, where they found him tightly grasping his girlfriend, Fisayo Odewole, underneath a white blanket that was draped over both of their heads. According to the police Odewole, who removed the blanket, had a bruised face and bleeding nose. Through a family spokesman, Odewole declined to be interviewed for this piece.

Oladapo, noting Ajibade had struggled with bipolar disorder for at least three years, believes his cousin was likely in a manic episode, something he particularly struggled with in the winter months. He said officers should have assisted his cousin, who was unarmed and had no prior criminal record, instead of arresting him.

Officer Reggie Owens pulled the couple apart after Ajibade refused to comply with his multiple orders to release his girlfriend. According to police records, Ajibade started to “resist apprehension in a violent manner”, prompting the officer to force him to the ground and place him in handcuffs. Officers charged Ajibade with battery and obstruction and took him to the Chatham County detention center.

O’Mara said Odewole handed officers a prescription bottle filled with Divalproex, medicine used to treat the manic symptoms of bipolar disorder, and asked them to take Ajibade to the hospital. Owens’ report made no mention of the request.

As a result of a fight during the booking process, Chatham County sheriff Al St Lawrence has said, deputies put Ajibade in an isolation cell and placed him in a restraining chair. The fight, the sheriff’s office said, resulted in a female sergeant suffering a concussion and a broken nose. Two male officers also suffered injuries.

Jail officers, who are supposed to check on an inmate in a restraint chair every 15 minutes, found Ajibade unresponsive during a second welfare check at an undisclosed time. The jail’s medical team unsuccessfully attempted to revive him. The coroner’s office declared him dead at 8.45am. Local authorities asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate.

Friends, family members and co-workers said Ajibade’s death had never made sense. Victoria Williams, a close friend, said Ajibade had a peaceful demeanor and always smiled. Blake Grannum, who worked at Banana Republic with Ajibade, said he frequently gave her career advice.

“He wasn’t an animal, he wasn’t a beast, and his heart was as pure as gold,” said Stephanie Hall, his former manager at Banana Republic. “He never acted in an irrational way. I didn’t know that person. I couldn’t imagine this being the end result with him.”

‘We try to handle them as best we can’

Chatham County sheriff’s office has come under pressure over the death of Matthew Ajibade. Photograph: Max Blau/the Guardian

Savannah-based attorney William Claiborne, who is working the Ajibade family, said at least three other people had suffered alleged wrongful deaths inside the same jail since 2014. The family of one of those individuals, 32-year-old Matthew Loflin, is seeking $15m in damages after he was allegedly denied treatment at an outside emergency room for congestive heart failure.

Claiborne alleged that officials have consistently understaffed the jail, undertrained new employees and worked with a private medical company that has failed to provide adequate care. He said the Ajibade family had called for St Lawrence’s resignation.

Chatham County coroner William Wessinger said the decision to rule Ajibade’s death a homicide, a death at the hands of another person, did not automatically prove intentional wrongdoing. He said the autopsy found Ajibade had “five to six specific injuries” labeled as blunt-force trauma, including abrasions around the head and face, cuts and bruises. He said officers also used a taser stun gun.

At a press conference last Thursday, St Lawrence said no cover up had occurred, adding that he was “not running a summer camp”. Since last month, jail officials have ordered all staff to undergo retraining before using Tasers inside the facility.

“We try to manhandle them when we can,” St Lawrence said. “That’s not always possible. Some of them are just worse than others. But we try to handle them as best we can.”

With many questions remaining, O’Mara said the Ajibade family needed answers. Local NBC affiliate WSAV has sued St Lawrence and Heap for violating the state’s open records laws in refusing to release video of Ajibade’s death. Claiborne has filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the Ajibade family. A judge will hear the lawsuit later this month.

O’Mara said an independent prosecutor should be appointed to the case, as Chatham County funds both the district attorney’s office and sheriff’s department.

“If the sheriff gets a civil judgment against him, that affects [DA Heap’s] budget,” O’Mara said. “She has financial interests in not bringing this to the forefront.”

When asked about O’Mara’s accusations, Heap said in a statement the Ajibade case had proceeded “in the same manner as every other case handled by my office”. Because the Georgia Bureau of Investigation returned an incomplete file on 20 April, she said, her office had to request the investigation of additional information. Once Heap’s office obtained the full investigation, one of her prosecutors began to review the lengthy case file.

Two weeks ago, Heap scheduled a grand jury to hear the case on 24 June. Heap insisted her entire focus had remained on the criminal investigation.

Several of Ajibade’s closest friends, however, said they had grown increasingly fearful of local authorities. Oladapo, who now lives in California, said: “Policemen in Nigeria do not kill people the way policemen kill people here. [American] police officers have become more like terrorists than anything else.”

Grannum said Ajibade’s death had made her reconsider her future.



“You look at Savannah, it’s so enchanting – it’s so beautiful with its Spanish moss and hanging trees, which cover the streets and buildings,” Grannum says. “When I look at it now, it looks like the trees are covering up something, like Savannah has so many secrets. It’s sad.”