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Senator Bruno, Jonathan Carey's
family speak out February
17, 2007
By Web Staff
Watch Video
 Senate
Majority Leader Joe Bruno said he's outraged at what happened to
Jonathan Carey, 13. The disabled boy died after an aide from the O.D.
Heck Developmental Center restrained him. Edwin Tirado and another
aide, Nadeem Mall, are charged with manslaughter.
Police said Tirado put Carey in a
hold after he acted out, but both men are charged because neither
got help for Carey for an hour-and-a-half.
Carey's parents have been at odds
with the state since pulling Jonathan from a different facility in
Dutchess County in 2004. They allege that he was abused there, but
couldn't prove it. Jonathan is nonverbal, and the state refused to
release his records.
Bruno says it's time for change.
"That the people there are trained,
and they are adequately caring for the people who are in their care.
Because something like this shouldn't happen once,” Senator Bruno
said.
Bruno said he hopes to meet with
the Carey family soon.
The family of Jonathan Carey is now
speaking out about the incident, but mostly in a plea to the
government to prevent an incident like this from happening again.
In a formal statement, the family
says, "It should not be in vain that Jonathan has died. We call upon
Governor Spitzer and the Legislature to remedy a broken system,
where children are not safe and parents cannot protect them—not
later, not in the future, but now. We are begging the government of
New York State to turn this tragedy into triumph for all those
persons who cannot speak for themselves."
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