Jade Kothe was a young dancer from Baltimore, Maryland. According to an article by Afro: The Black Media Authority, Jade was in Florida with her boyfriend when she overdosed—on substances that were not her own (they were provided to her)—and her boyfriend called the police to help her. When the officers arrived, she had a pulse and was minimally responsive. The officers proceeded to block the boyfriend and their landlord, who had placed Jade in a truck to take her to the hospital that was .5 miles away, parking behind the vehicle and refusing to move. An officer then dragged the still-moaning Jade out of the car, where her head hit the ground, causing her eyes to flutter. She moaned even louder, and the officers called to the scene were indifferent and did not administer aid or Naloxone, an FDA-approved drug carried by law enforcement and paramedics to reverse the effects of opiate-related complications. Instead, the unnamed officers let Jade lie on the ground while they asked about her race. Her boyfriend informed them that she was an African-American Latina, at which point, the officers grew increasingly indifferent, one of them even saying “Oh well.” 

Jade died on the lawn that morning in a completely preventable situation. According to Afro, Jade was left to lie under a white sheet on the lawn for 2 hours after she had died; a white male officer on the scene is reported to have lifted the sheet and said “Nice rack.” 

She was never taken to the hospital. She was never given Naxolone. She was left to gasp and fight for her life on the front lawn while these officers did nothing to help her. 

She needs justice. These officers need to be fired and charged with murder. They were called to help an innocent woman and instead, they let her die without so much as an attempt to assist her. We are calling on the state of Florida to remove these officers and charge them in her death. 

They could have saved her life. There is no reason she should not still be here today. 

#JusticeForJade