ATLANTA — A celebration of life service was held Thursday for Brianna Grier, the Georgia woman who died six days after deputies said she fell from a patrol car. Following the ceremony, a rally was held outside the State Capitol.
A pink and white casket carried Grier's body. Floral arrangements made up of pink roses surrounded the casket as mourners paid their respects. Family members and friends could be seen wearing pink ribbons with her face on them.
Rev. Al Sharpton gave the eulogy, followed by a plea for justice by civil rights and injury attorney Ben Crump. The two spoke about police brutality and asked for more answers from law enforcement.
"Your (the deputies) job was to bring her for help," Sharpton said. "And if you couldn't do the job, you shouldn't have signed up for it."
Sharpton's speech continued to ask for law enforcement to be held accountable in connection with Grier's death.
"We want you to do your job, or get another one," Sharpton said.
Brianna Grier's sister, Lottie Grier, spoke near the end of the homegoing service, reflecting on Brianna's life and what her family has gone through since her passing.
"I'm going to miss Brianna," Lottie said, before thanking those for their love and support.
Lottie described her sister as "the baby" of the family and said they loved each other growing up, even when they didn't always get along. Overall, she said, Brianna had a big heart.
"Brianna was a caring person and she was very loving. She loved her children. She loved my children, "Lottie said.
Brianna Grier's Celebration of Life service
The service comes after independent preliminary findings based on the medical reports from Grady Hospital were released at a press conference on Monday. Pathologist Dr. Allecia Wilson of the University of Michigan said Grier died due to a blunt force impact to her head, which caused swelling in the brain.
Attorney, activist and NAACP President Gerald Griggs was in attendance with Crump when the independent autopsy was released. He spoke with 11Alive's Cheryl Preheim on Wednesday about the upcoming event and the independent autopsy results.
Griggs said the family has "called on the activist community" and the wider community to "demand more resources and more care for the mental health community here in Georgia."
Grier's homegoing service was planned for Thursday at 11 a.m. at West Hunter Street Baptist Church at 1040 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. After the service, family members went to the State Capitol for a rally.
“She didn’t deserve to die. We only asked for help. That’s what we were seeking. We didn’t get the help we needed. We got a funeral,” Marvin Grier said, Brianna's father.
“We’re here in front of the Capitol demanding Governor Kemp and the Georgia Legislature understand they have Brianna’s blood on their hands,” Crump said.
Video below | NAACP President Gerald Griggs speaks ahead of event, pathology results
The rally for Grier is meant not only to demand more answers and the full body camera video from Hancock Sheriff's Office but also to address the lack of resources offered to those experiencing a mental health crisis in Georgia.
"And what people need to know is it's not the first time that Brianna has had an episode before. Other times that she had an episode. The ambulance was called. They responded. They were able to stabilize her," Griggs said. "They were able to provide her with medication. But this time, the Hancock County sheriff's deputy showed up and ultimately, Brianna ended up succumbing from her injuries in their custody, in their care, six days later."
The other main concern for Griggs comes from the independent autopsy results from Monday, showing that Grier's brain shifted from one side to the other because of the swelling from blunt force trauma; Wilson also said, in her findings, that Grier suffered from a fracture in her skull.
"What stands out to me is the level of trauma that she sustained," Griggs said. "And I'm very concerned how someone that small could sustain such damaging trauma. And it has not been explained."
Last month, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a 10-minute clip of the bodycam video from the scene, which sheds light on her interaction with authorities. Watch a portion of that video below.
A part of the issue, Griggs said the family has not been able to see the full body camera footage from the night the incident took place. However, the family has asked several times.
"The GBI works for the people and it's time for them to be transparent to the people in the process," Griggs said. "And so that's what they're asking for."
Lastly, Griggs points out Grier's 3-year-old twins, who are now without a mother and asks the community if anything to come together and get answers about Grier for their sake.
"And you have to understand, Brianna is not coming home and somebody is going to have to take care of her beautiful 3-year-old little girls," Griggs said. "And it's incumbent upon us, the community of conscience, the community of care, to take care of them and make sure that they get answers and justice for their mother."
More Brianna Grier's case
The Georgia woman fell out of a moving patrol car following her arrest on July 15. Grier, 28, suffered two fractures in her skull, went into a coma and died after six days in the hospital, according to the GBI
Mary Grier, her mother, called the Hancock County Sheriff's Office for help because Brianna Grier was experiencing a mental health crisis; two deputies arrived at the home between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. She was detained by Hancock County sheriff's deputies, cuffed, and then placed into a sheriff's transport vehicle without a seatbelt.
The agency said her hands were in handcuffs in front of her, and the rear passenger-side door was not shut. The deputy thought he closed the rear passenger-side door, and the deputies left the scene. They drove a short distance before Brianna Grier fell out of the moving car. The body camera video reveals the deputies had no contact with Grier from when she was placed in the car until she fell out of the car.