HOUSTON – FIEL, an immigrant-led civil rights organization, is standing in solidarity with the family of a Marshall Middle School student who died on campus.
A news conference was held Thursday afternoon ahead of Houston Independent School District’s board meeting.
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The family of Landon Payton, friends, and supporters gathered at the meeting to ask for answers surrounding his death.
“In an area where most students are students of color, this can happen to any one of our kids. We need there to be changes so that tragedies like these can be avoided. We need there to be working EAD machines and the proper personnel who know how to use them,” said Cesar Espinosa, FIEL executive director.
Payton’s father, Alexis Payton is demanding for answers after the sudden death of his teenage son, who collapsed on the gym floor at the middle school.
He was told by the school that Landon was shooting basketball hoops when the incident occurred.
In the aftermath of the death, there have been questions surrounding the integrity of the defibrillator used during the medical event and whether or not it was working properly.
A district spokesperson told KPRC 2 that the matter could be a part of future litigation, so HISD will not further comment about the event.
After Thursday’s news conference, the Payton family walked into HISD’s board meeting, held up Landon’s picture and said his name three times before leaving.
According to FIEL, in a month, they are going to do this again and try to actually speak at the board meeting.