BOSTON — Boston City Councilors approved a resolution Wednesday to call on the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department to adopt a new policy that would require officers to be put on paid administrative leave following in-custody deaths involving use of force.
It comes after the death of Shacoby Kenny, an inmate at the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston.
Kenny was killed after an encounter with corrections officers on December 8, 2025.
His mother, Druesilla Brown, said, “There’s no reason under the sun right now that my son should be dead.”
Brown explained her son struggled with his mental health and says she spent his whole life trying to get him the help he needed.
“Through all the things that were happening with my son dealing with the law, his mother was there. I made calls that he needed to be somewhere where he could get help because his mental state had declined,” Brown said.
Brown hired an outside forensic psychologist who determined he was not competent to stand trial for the two assault charges he was being held on $2,500 bail for.
Brown said she got that news from her lawyer the day her son was killed, during an incident with corrections officers.
“I had to pause in my tracks and tell the lawyer, my son is dead,” Brown remembered.
Eight months after his death, Brown is still mourning her son but says what haunts her is the fact that the corrections officers involved are still on the job.
“My son, Shacoby Deandre Kenny, is dead and gone. And those guards are yet still on the job. Make it make sense to me,” Brown said.
Boston City Councilor Miniard Culpepper put forth a resolution back in April that would call on the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office to change their policy, making it so any officer involved in an in-custody death involving use of force would be put on paid administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
On April 29, the resolution was voted down.
On Wednesday, Councilor Culpepper brought that resolution back to the forefront after the medical examiner ruled Kenny’s death a homicide on July 22.
“Not complete justice but the beginning of justice; the activation of justice will tell this mother that her son’s death will not be in vain. That justice will be served,” Councilor Culpepper said.
The vote on that resolution took place Wednesday and passed.
The attorney general’s office says they’re actively investigating the circumstances surrounding Kenny’s death and could not comment further.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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