Family members of an Alabama man who died shortly after police found him running in and out of traffic on an Irondale roadway likened his death to that of George Floyd and said they want accountability and officer arrests.
His family, accompanied by attorneys Henry Daniels and Roderick Van Daniel, held a press conference on Monday outside Irondale City Hall.
They called the news conference after the Alabama law Enforcement Agency allowed them of Friday to see full body camera footage of the incident for the first time in 11 months.
“The Reeder family’s hearts are heavy,” said wife Sandra Lee Reeder. “Phillip David Reeder suffered a painful death.”
“After being Tased by the Irondale Police Department, subdued, handcuffed with his hands behind his back, face down, one officer’s knee is on Phillip’s neck for about three minutes while another police officer had one Phillip’s legs upwards,” Sandra Reeder said.
“Phillip is heard clearly, not once, not twice but three times saying, ‘I can’t breathe.’”
“This was an act against humanity what happened on that day. Mr. Reeder was suffering a mental crisis,” attorney Daniels said. “He didn’t deserve what happened to him. He begged and pleaded for his life.”
Irondale city officials did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, Reeder died of hypertensive heart disease associated with cocaine and restraint during altercation. His death was ruled a homicide, which means he died at the hands of another.
The Jefferson County District Attorney reviewed Reeder’s death, prosecutors said Monday. The D.A.’s office did not find probable cause for criminal charges, prosecutors said.
Irondale police officers were dispatched at 5:10 a.m. that Tuesday on several 911 calls reporting the man’s behavior on Highway 78 near Old Leeds Road.
Officers at the time said they found Reeder who appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance and/or behaving erratically.
Officers rendered first aid on the scene until paramedics arrived. Reeder was taken to St. Vincent’s East where he was pronounced dead at 6:34 a.m.
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said, “The manner of death is best classified as ‘homicide’ for vital statistical purposes.”
Authorities said homicide is not a legal conclusion of fault.
It simply means a death that was caused by another human.
The autopsy showed injuries on Reeder’s body from the struggle with first responders and the subsequent resuscitative efforts.
Abrasions and contusions were identified, but the autopsy found no injuries that would be fatal.
“The heart was enlarged in a manner most likely caused by uncontrolled hypertension,” the autopsy found.
“Toxicological analysis detected cocaine in blood collected from the iliac veins.”
“Although likely painful, the blunt force injuries alone would not account for Mr. Reeder’s death,” medical examiners determined.
“The injuries would have caused catecholamine release which would have been further exacerbated by the exertion from restraint.”
“Given his heart disease, he would be more at risk for developing a dysrhythmia (a kind of heart attack) and the likelihood of a dysrhythmia is increased when a stimulant drug, such as cocaine, is in the blood,” officials said.
“The combination of his heart disease, cocaine, injuries, and exertion from the altercation are the best explanation for Mr. Reeder’s death.”
The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and did not find probable cause for any criminal charges. The case was not presented to a grand jury.
Daniels said they are pursuing justice, accountability and transparency. The family has not yet filed a wrongful death lawsuit but said it is under consideration.
Daniels compared Reeder’s death to the Floyd case.
“This world was captivated and shocked about what happened in 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Daniels said. “In 2024, the exact same thing happened.”
“And the only difference is one happened in 2020, and one happened in 2024,” he said.
“I know a lot people think I was going to say Mr. Floyd was Black and Mr. Reeder was white. See this is a human issue because both of them…said he could not breathe. That joins us.”
Sandra Reeder said her husband, who owned Reeder Construction, was coming home from a job in Memphis and was headed to Huntsville to start another project.
“He was probably stressed, anxiety, and working around the clock,” she said.
“He was a successful businessman. He was a wonderful provider for all of our family, the breadwinner for our family,” Sandra Reeder said. “Our lives have not been the same and will never be the same.”
Reeder’s officer manager, she said, called 911 to report that he was in a mental crisis. He was not armed and not dangerous, Sandra Reeder said the caller told dispatchers.
“Phillip was clearly seen have a mental crisis that required immediate medical help,” she said. “Phillip did not receive the immediate medical help he desperately needed.”
Sandra Reeder described what she saw on the body cam footage.
“The police officers continued to hold Phillip down. One officer asked the other officer, ‘Are you going to let him up?’ The other officer said, ‘No, he will just try to run,’’’ she said.
Sandra Reeder said after about three minutes, the officers rolled Reeder over onto his back.
“Phillip’s face was bloody with deep, heavy abrasions on his face,” she said, adding officers were seen checking Reeder’s pulse. When there wasn’t one, the officers started CPR.
Reeder was taken to St. Vincent’s East where he was pronounced dead at 6:34 a.m.
Sandra Reeder said the footage did not back up what police said happened. She said she did not see Reeder beating and jumping on police vehicles and said she doesn’t believe his bruises and cuts came from him stumbling on the concrete after he was Tased.
“We have a grieving family right here,” Van Daniel said. “But today we fight for justice, we fight for the rights of the family, for the citizens of Irondale, all across the state of Alabama, all across the United States of America. We’ve got to hold them accountable for transparency.”
Daniels said what the officers did was unconstitutional and illegal.
“Just because they wear a badge and star doesn’t put them above the law,” he said. “The should be held accountable to a higher standard.”
“True justice would be going back in time and stopping them from coming to that scene and killing Phillip,” Daniels said. “The only measure of justice that we can receive here …is accountability for those who commit a crime.”
Reeder’s son, Kylee Reeder, said the family fought for 11 months to get the full story. They were prevented from doing so until Friday.
“As a son watching his father be smeared into the ground with blood running down his face, that’s traumatic as it is,” he said. “We had to actually endure that for an hour, me and my brother. It was ridiculous to see what they did and how they handled it.”
“We absolutely need justice,” Kylee Reeder said.
Reeder’s other son, Zechariah Reeder, said what happened to his father is horrible for any family to endure.
“It happened to George Floyd’s, it’s happened to several other families,” he said. “There’s videos everywhere of people getting shot and killed and murdered not just by other humans but by police officers. People that are there to serve and protect.”
“What I have saw, what I have gone through these past 11 months, should not happen to any 19-year-old,” Zechariah Reeder said. “All I want is for justice for him, for his story to be known. He was a good man, and he did everything he could to be a good father.”
“Could they have done something differently? Absolutely. Did they? They did not,” attorney Daniels said. “But hopefully this lawsuit, if we bring one, they would take some accountability and things would change so the next person who is dealing with a mental health crisis will not end up sent to the morgue.”
“A lot of times we see lawyers show up and people think here come the lawyers, here comes the lawsuit, money, but this case is not about money,” he said. “It’s about his family.”
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