Shocking new video shows the final moments before Dexter Barry’s death after he was reportedly denied his heart medication following an arrest in late 2022.
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Video Shows Moments Before Dexter Barry’s Death After Being Denied Heart Medication In Custody
Footage taken from the backseat of the police cruiser shows Barry, a heart transplant recipient, begging sheriff’s deputies to bring along his prescription.
The 54-year-old required three daily doses of his $ 2,400-per-month medication. The drugs were designed to prevent his body from rejecting the donor’s heart, his family said.
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The tragedy began after Barry was arrested following a verbal altercation with a neighbor in November 2022, TSR Investigates‘ Justin Carter reports.
He allegedly accused the man of using his WiFi despite having stopped splitting the bill with him. Barry was ultimately taken to a Jacksonville jail for two days for threatening his neighbor. However, the confrontation never turned physical, police noted.
Dexter Barry, 54, was arrested after an argument w/his neighbor.
He told the Jacksonville Sheriff's officer 7 times that he took daily anti-rejection meds for his heart transplant.
Barry told his son he never got his meds while in JSO's jail.
He died.https://t.co/kt4EtCvMqq
— Nichole Manna (@NicholeManna) May 23, 2023
Dexter Barry Missed Five Doses Of Life-Saving Heart Transplant Drugs While Jailed, Family Says
Court documents show Barry even told the judge that he needed his medication. His bond was set at $503. Additionally, an issue was ordered that he have no violent contact with his neighbor, the alleged victim in the case.
Still, he went on to miss at least five doses of his life-saving heart medicine prescription while behind bars.
Barry died shortly after his release from jail, according to TSRI.
According to the Jacksonville Tributary News, which initially broke the story, the medical examiner declined to perform an autopsy.
His family decided to hire their own pathologist. The specialist found that Barry died due to his body rejecting his heart. However, they added that they “did not feel qualified to give a professional opinion on the discontinuation of heart transplant medication.”
Experts say organ rejection can happen quickly if anti-rejection medications are stopped. Sudden discontinuation of the medicine can result in a permanent decline in heart function and even death.
Barry’s Adult Children Now Preparing A Lawsuit Against The Jail Over His Death
His adult children are now preparing a lawsuit against the jail over Barry’s death.
“We are going to war for our dad,” his daughter Janelle King told TSRI’s Justin Carter. “They knew he had a heart issue and kept him in jail without his meds. You could have given him a summons to come back to court, gave him a court date, gave him a warning.”
She added: “But to take him to jail when he told you seven times that he needed his meds, that should have never happened.”
Meanwhile, his family has continuously asked the jail to release Barry’s medical records and hired an attorney in an effort to obtain them. They were only provided after the media began inquiring about his death.
Those records show that jail officials did call Walmart the day Barry was arrested. However, they only called in for his blood pressure medication, not his heart transplant prescription.
The family says Barry was in good health before his arrest, and the medications had been working, adding their father would still be alive if his pleas for medication had been considered.
