A Providence Rhode Island man who traveled to Conyers, Georgia to look after his father that had suffered from a stroke was found dead inside a Rockdale County Georgia jail.
The family of Shali Tilson, an aspiring business owner and pre-law student believes that their love one was murdered inside of a Rockdale County Georgia jail and also believe that they are now trying to cover up his death.
According to the family of Mr.Tilson, it all began when he decided to pay one of his siblings an early morning visit on March 3rd. Mr. Tilson left his parents home at approximately 5:00 a.m. to walk the short distance to his sister’s home but was stopped by police along the way. Conyers Police Department alleged that they received a 911 call that a man fitting Mr. Tilson’s description was seen kicking on a door in the neighborhood where the family once resided.
According to a police report obtained by Hip Hop Enquirer, cops allege that Mr. Tilson became combated when they approached him and even slipped out of his handcuffs which was doubled locked when they placed him in their police cruiser.
Here is the complete verbiage from the arresting police report obtained by Hip Hop Enquirer:
“On Saturday, March 03, at about 0518 hours, I responded to 1216 Lakeview Drive, in reference to a male subject attempting to kick the door open at the location. Upon arrival I was met at the roadway by a black male, later identified as Shali Tilson, wearing a camouflage jacket, black pants and red shoes. Tilson was yelling “fuck yeah we kicking the door in” as well as several other profanities. He also advised the female he was walking with had cocaine in her possession. He rambled on and on and was pacing back and forth as he yelled. Officer Eaton was on the scene with me. Corporal Hardwick arrived shortly after we did.
After attempting to calm him down for several minutes it was apparent Tilson was not going to comply. I advised him he was under arrest and to put his hands behind his back. I took control of his left hand and Eaton took control of his right. He began to resist and we ended up on the ground struggling to handcuff him. I was eventually able to apply the handcuff to the rear of his person. The cuff was checked for fit and then was double locked by Eaton. Tilson was cleared of any weapons or contraband then relocated to my patrol vehicle (cleared of any weapons or contraband prior to the start of my shift). While attempting secure him in the rear seat, Tilson continued to resist arrest. Corporal Hardwick attempted to take control of the handcuffs in an attempt to guide him in the vehicle. He pulled away and the cuffs slipped off his wrist. Eaton was eventually able to reapply the cuffs. Tilson was secured in the rear seat.
Tilson was transported to Rockdale County Jail. While en route to the jail I advised communications to make Rockdale staff aware of the extreme disruptive nature of Tilson and his tendency towards resisting arrest. Upon arrival I was met by deputies who were able to remove him from my vehicle in a transport chair. He was turned over to the jail staff.”
Once he didn’t return home, the family became frantic:
According to family members of Mr. Tilson, when he didn’t return home that day the family became alarmed and started calling around trying to locate him. Once they discovered Mr. Tilson was locked up in the Rockdale County jail, they were told that he could not receive any visitors because he was placed in solitary confinement but wasn’t told the reason. The family tells us that they made several trips to the jail only to be turned away but on March 13th, they were notified by sheriff employees that Mr. Tilson was dead and that his body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. When the family went to the GBI, they asked could they view his body and was denied that request as well. After Mrs. Tynisha Tilson threatened to contact the media she was offered to view a photo of Shali Tilson. In a disturbing video, the mother describes to us exactly what that photo looked like which horrified the entire family that was present at the GBI headquarters.
We spoke exclusively with an eyewitness who stated that he saw a jail detention officer weighing about 240-250 lbs. in the head and then watching other detention officers carry Shali Tilson from his cell by his hands and feet and then the next day learned that he was dead. According to the witness, several other inmates complained about what they saw to prison officials but were told that they were “making things up” and he wasn’t dead.
GBI Released A Preliminary Cause of Death
On May 14th, the Tilson family along with civil rights attorney Mawuli Davis had a scheduled meeting with officials of GBI to discuss what their initial findings were. According to sources who attended the meeting, Mr. Tilson died of dehydration which was the results of blood clots. The family believes Shali Tilson died as the result of physical abuse and they have very little confidence in the investigation by the police who are investigating other police.
