Layleen Polanco Found Dead In Her Cell At Rikers Island

We are heartbroken and devastated by the passing last night of Layleen Polanco, who was incarcerated at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island. She is the 10th trans woman reported dead in 2019. She was scheduled to come home June 13th, instead her family will now be planning her funeral. She will not be the last if we don’t do nothing now as a community. We need to do more for our sisters and protect black transgender women. Don’t trust politicians speaking about Layleen Polanco: They supported the massive expansion of the NYPD in 2013 if they supported broken windows policing that targets trans women or support building new jails instead of keeping Rikers open until 2026.

About The Author