VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Rolin Hill, at 34 years old, died in a hospital one year ago today. The public was told Hill died from a medical emergency. 10 On Your Side later learned he was allegedly beaten, nearly to death, at the hands of three Virginia Beach sheriff’s deputies.
The crime was caught on video, which was viewed by Japharii Jones, the president of Black Lives Matter 757.
“The video is very, very hard to watch. It’s a complete miscarriage of justice. You hear a man laboring to breathe. You hear a man asking for water and being refused. You hear a man, you know, fighting for his life, and there’s no regard for his life. You see him being punched in his head numerous times, being kneed in the neck and his torso, all while he’s handcuffed by his hands and by his feet in a restraint wrap,” said Jones.
The State Medical Examiner determined Hill died from positional and mechanical asphyxia. His death was ruled a homicide.
Jones said the portions of the video that have been shared by news organizations are a sanitized depiction of a violent crime that took place in the city jail.
“And then at the end of the video, when he was no longer moving, he had his clothes cut off with him and was left nude inside the cell. And then they came back a few minutes later, not knowing that, you know, they had beat him within an inch of his life,” said Jones.
Former deputies, Kevin Wilson, Michael Kidd, and Eric Baptiste, face second-degree murder and other charges. BLM 757 is calling for a new facility to treat citizens in crisis.
“It’s one of the largest cities in Virginia. And we feel as if there is, you know, at least a facility for people to be able to go to and to have different crisis intervention. People come to these mental health calls. Then we feel like we can maybe come up with a solution. But we do feel like there is a mental health crisis in Virginia Beach,” said Jones.
10 On Your Side was at the one-year “Angelversary” for Rolin Hill. Hill’s family and friends gathered there to remember him.
“I love him I miss him very dearly,” Rolin’s friend, Anthony Maiella said.
“That was my boy man, I will always remember him going up the road up South Plaza on that skateboard,” Rolin’s friend B.J. Lang said.
Its those memories that give them hope, as they get closer to the deputies’ trials.
“Justice needs to be served,” Lang said.
“I just want to stand here and say that I love him and I’m here for them, and I’m gonna show up for him every time we have an event anytime his family needs me, I’ll be here and I love him, rest in peace Rolin Hill,” Maiella said.
On August 16th, Rolin’s birthday, the family will host an adult field day in his honor. That will take place on August 16th, at Red Wing Park at 1:00 p.m.
Last month, WAVY covered a gathering at Mt. Trashmore to remember the life of Rolin Hill. Several people spoke, including Rolin’s father, Stanley Hill, who said more needs to be done when it comes to mental health.
WAVY-TV will also cover jury trials for the former deputies, which are scheduled to begin in September.
