APD Announces Independent Review Of Jayvon Givan Case After Hanging Was Initially Ruled A Suicide

On Tuesday, we reported the mysterious story of 29-year-old Jayvon Givan, who, in September of last year,  was found hanging from a pillar and a metal chain in a commercial building near Albuquerque.

The Albuquerque Police Department and the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) determined his death was a suicide, but his family — who say they did not find out Givan was dead until more than a year later — are not buying it, and neither are many in the local community. In fact, on Tuesday, 100 protesters showed up on the steps of APD headquarters to tell the authorities as much. And, wouldn’t you know it, not 24 hours later, APD Police Chief Harold Medina announced that the department will seek an independent review of the case and the work of his investigators.

“Chief Medina says while the death appears to be a suicide, the fact that it involved a hanging is enough reason for further scrutiny,” KOB4 reported.

KOB spoke with Givan’s twin sister, Jaivryon Walker, who said she welcomes the independent investigation, which her family has been publicly calling for since early this month.

“I don’t feel like he went there to harm himself. You know—like—I just don’t feel that,” Walker said of her brother.

Here’s the thing: we can almost certainly expect that the APD will be announcing that the independent investigation didn’t find any results that contradict investigators’ initial conclusion that Givan died by suicide. We can expect this for at least three reasons. First, this just feels like police theater meant to appease protesters, community members and family members who simply don’t trust the APD. Secondly, why should they trust APD? The department, so far, hasn’t offered an explanation as to why the family is saying it hadn’t been notified about Givan’s death for more than a year. Is it true they weren’t notified, and, if so, why not?

Third, this case is more than a year old, so what exactly are independent investigators going to find out now that the authorities missed last year?

Source: APD Announces Independent Review Of Jayvon Givan Case After Hanging Was Initially Ruled A Suicide