Family seeks answers after man dies in Suffolk County Police custody

WYANDANCH, N.Y. -- A family is searching for answers after a man died in police custody on Long Island last week.

Henry Sanders' loved ones came together Sunday to remember his life and raise questions about his death.

Henry Sanders dies in Suffolk County Police custody

Suffolk County Police said they received a 911 call around 10:20 a.m. Thursday reporting a man, possibly intoxicated, lying on the ground on the corner of Merrit Avenue and North 15th Street in Wyandanch.

"When police arrived, the man, who was naked from his waist down, was banging on a business window, acting irrational and agitated," according to police.

They said officers subdued him and handcuffed him. He then became unresponsive, and first responders performed CPR. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The attorney representing the family shared witness cell phone video, which has no audio but shows part of the encounter with police. Officers appear to push Sanders, 41, against a wall, trying to handcuff him. He falls to the ground and a struggle ensues.

"The way that Henry was handled was totally inappropriate. It was excessive. It was forceful ... It looked like he was treated like a criminal more than someone who was in need of medical assistance," attorney Heather Palmore said.

Emotional vigil held for Henry Sanders in Wyandanch

An emotional vigil for Sanders was held Sunday night on the corner of Merrit and North 15th. Friends and family are desperate to learn exactly what happened.

"It was a medical call. The man said there's somebody outside that needs help, that's in distress. I don't understand how it got to where it got to," one speaker said.

"He wasn't no dangerous person," said Gregory Pinion, Sanders' uncle.

Pinion said he heard Sanders left a New York City shelter, where he was staying, but doesn't know why he was in Wyandanch.

"I had no clue he was here, and then I got a phone call, person told me that you better get out here, man, the police are fighting with your nephew. The next thing I heard that he was dead," Pinion said.

Homicide squad detectives and the internal affairs bureau are investigating the circumstances around his death. CBS New York put in a formal request for police body camera video, as well as autopsy results.

Suffolk County Police say the attorney general's office responded to the scene and the investigation is continuing.