NEW YORK – A Brooklyn father blames a New York City agency for his son’s death, claiming in a lawsuit that he disappointed his son by ignoring clear warning signs before the 4-year-old was killed. .
The family of young Jace Eubanks has been mourning his passing for over a year and now his father wants answers. Jamal Eubanks said in a lawsuit that the Children’s Services Administration ignored obvious signs of child abuse.
“I don’t understand how something like this can continue, especially with all the other cases that have been brought to my attention,” Eubanks said on Tuesday.
Police said Jace was killed by his mother’s boyfriend, Jerimiah Johnson. Jace’s mother stopped police outside her home on Baltic Street in Gowanus in September 2021, saying her son was not breathing.
He was rushed to the hospital where he died. The official cause of death was abused child syndrome, with the medical examiner noting that Jace had multiple injuries at various stages of healing.
“ACS has failed Jamal. They have failed Jace. And they have failed this town,” said Derek Sells, the family’s attorney.
In the lawsuit, Eubanks and his lawyers said ACS should have done more to help the boy. Jace’s asylum called the ACS a month before his death to report suspicious injuries.
“If the ACS had just taken him to a doctor for an X-ray, they would have known he had skull fractures, rib fractures and other injuries,” Sells said.
Johnson has had 12 previous arrests, all domestic in nature, learned from sister network NBC New York. And according to the court filing against ACS, Johnson had a history of child abuse. In fact, at the time of the complaint relating to the children in this case, Johnson still had numerous complaints of child abuse and domestic violence open.
“The fact that this child has been placed in the care and custody of Jerimiah Johnson by the ACS, the Child Services Administration, is absolutely frightening,” said Mina Malik, a lawyer representing the family. .
The City Law Department said in a statement: “What a senseless and tragic loss. We will look into the case and respond in litigation.”
Eubanks said he wanted responsibility, not only for the memory of his son Jace, but also for the boy’s older brother, who is now in foster care.
“I just want justice for my son, so things like that don’t happen to other families anymore,” Eubanks said.
Johnson is currently behind bars, charged with murder. Jace’s mother was never charged with any crime in the boy’s death.
