| RIPTIDE | ▼ MIAMI BEACH MURKY WATERS ered for the day’s festivities. After taking him off life support following nine days in the hospital, his family wants answers as to the strange circumstances of his death. Peniel Janvier, 28, was a part-time recre- A ation leader for Miami Beach’s Parks and Recreation Department and a coach for one of the city’s summer camp programs. On Au- gust 16, Janvier was playing with kids at the Scott Rakow Youth Center during an end-of- summer-camp celebration at the center’s outdoor pool. Around 2:30 p.m. that day, the Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) was called to the center after Janvier was observed in distress in the pool. According to an MBPD incident report (embedded at the end of this story), “He was observed in distress and after a while several coaches and lifeguards took him out [of ] the pool.” Janvier was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator. He spent ten days in critical condition until he was taken off the ventilator and died on Friday, August 26. Reached by New Times on Tuesday, Marc Brumer, a wrongful death attorney represent- ing Janvier’s relatives, says the family has questions as to how long Janvier was under- water before help arrived, given the opinion of a neurologist at Mt. Sinai who performed a GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS ▼ MIAMI-DADE JAIL OUTBREAK the county’s jails. The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilita- A tion Department (MDCR) received an inmate on August 26 who had contracted monkeypox prior to being arrested, according to department spokesperson Anthony Paz Jr. The inmate, booked and housed at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK), was immediately placed in medical isolation by the jail’s health- care staff. The case was confirmed on August 29. “Miami-Dade County is actively monitoring the spread of monkeypox in our community and working directly with the Florida Department of MONKEYPOX ARRIVES IN A MIAMI- DADE COUNTY JAIL. BY ALEX DELUCA Miami-Dade County inmate has a con- firmed monkeypox infection, marking the first known case of the disease in FAMILY SEEKS ANSWERS IN DROWNING DEATH OF EMPLOYEE AT SCOTT RAKOW YOUTH CENTER. BY JOSHUA CEBALLOS City of Miami Beach em- ployee died last month after drowning in a public pool on the last day of summer camp, in view of children who gath- recreation programs. Miami Beach Police are actively investigating the events that led up to the drowning. In reviewing the circumstances with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, no criminal charges are expected,” the city told Channel 10 News. City of Miami Beach spokesperson Me- lissa Berthier clarifies to New Times that par- ents of children at the summer camp were notified that a team member was being sent to the hospital on the day of the incident, and a message was sent directly to parents and Parks and Recreation staff when Janvier died. “We also immediately made counseling services available to both our campers and employees, which continues to be ongoing,” Berthier says. Asked about the Facebook comments that Screenshot via Facebook Peniel Janvier, an Army Reserve member and a part-time employee with the City of Miami Beach, died after drowning at the Scott Rakow Youth Center. CAT scan and found extensive brain damage. “The neurologist feels that, based on the level of brain damage he had, he had been un- der there for a relatively long period of time,” Brumer asserts. On Brumer’s advice, the family has asked Miami Beach to provide video footage from around the pool, hoping to determine how the young coach ended up drowning, and how and when lifeguards became aware that he needed help. On a Miami Beach residents’ Facebook group, several parents said their children were present at the youth center and wit- nessed Janvier’s drowning. Though the police report stated that life- guards took Janvier out of the pool, one par- ent commented that children including her eldest son had to help pull the young man out Health to expand access to the monkeypox vac- cine,” the department wrote in a statement to New Times. “One of MDCR’s top priorities is to protect the health and well-being of staff, medi- cal personnel, and all inmates in our custody. We will continue to assess our operational practices as monkeypox evolves to ensure safety through- out our facilities.” MDCR operates the eighth-largest jail system in the nation, with four detention facilities that house more than 100,00 people annually. As of August 28, the inmate population was 4,645. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 18,101 people have been infected with the monkeypox virus in the U.S. since the outbreak began in mid-May. Of those infections, 1,870 were in Florida. From May 17 to August 15, Florida’s Depart- ment of Health confirmed 513 monkeypox cases in Miami-Dade County. The county recently opened two monkeypox vaccine sites to offer shots to “eligible, high-risk residents,” including of the water; others demanded that the city investigate his death. Brumer says answers have been too slow in coming. “Eventually we’ll get the video and the witness statements. But, I mean — how can this happen in today’s day and age on the last day of summer camp?” the attorney wonders. During the nine days Janvier was on life support and for some time thereafter, neither the City of Miami Beach nor the youth center issued a statement to the general public about the incident. The city’s first public statement came in response to a Channel 10 News story on August 29. “PJ was an outstanding employee who truly left a lasting impact on everyone he worked with. His smile was contagious, and he cared deeply for the youth in our close contacts of monkeypox cases and immu- nocompromised men with HIV who have had sex with other men. It remains unknown if or when the vaccine will become available to the state or county’s incarcerated population. The county has “MIAMI-DADE COUNTY IS ACTIVELY MONITORING THE SPREAD OF MONKEYPOX IN OUR COMMUNITY.” noted that demand for monkeypox vac- cines is outpacing supply. County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in an August 9 statement that she is leveraging exist- ing pandemic re- sources to distribute monkeypox vaccines as quickly as possible and educate the public about the virus. “The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that we must act as a community to protect ourselves and each other, and we are taking advantage of children had to pull the coach out of the pool and how long Janvier was left unattended in the water, Berthier said police are still investi- gating the incident. The mention of “no crimi- nal charges,” she clarifies, came in response to a Channel 10 reporter’s specific inquiry. On an online fundraising page created to support Peniel Janvier’s family, loved ones and acquaintances left messages of condo- lence and shared their personal experiences with Janvier as a comrade in arms and a camp coach for their children. “This really saddens me, Janvier was one of my Soldiers in the Army, he was a talented young man full of promise. I wish I could do more to help and I pray his family continually finds the strength to honor his memory. Rest In Peace little brother,” wrote Simon Gill. “Pj had been a real role model for my 2 sons at summer camp. I heard about him only positive things and he will be deeply missed,” wrote Marion Khalifa. On Facebook, Iglesia Virtud in West Little River, where Peniel’s brother Daniel Janvier is a minister, posted its own message. “Peniel was a loving brother, son, soldier and friend to many. His love was grand and was felt by everyone around him,” the church wrote. the lessons learned and the robust infrastructure we still have in place to offer services to those in need of protection against this virus,” Levine Cava said. Monkeypox, which has been described as a less-severe version of smallpox, was primarily found in parts of Central and West Africa before recently spreading around the globe and infect- ing tens of thousands of people. The monkeypox rash begins with small red bumps, which grow into pus-filled blisters that crust over and heal within a few weeks. The disease has a low fatality rate, and no deaths have been reported from it in the United States since the outbreak began. The virus is known to mainly spread through physical con- tact and contaminated items like clothing and bedding. The CDC is researching how often transmission occurs through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing. [email protected] 33 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | miaminewtimes.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | MIAMI NEW TIMES NEW TIMES MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 SEPTEMBER 8-14, 2022
