Man who died in S.F. jail had ‘big heart,’ family says
The family of Jorge Macay is speaking out after the 41-year-old’s man’s death while in custody at the San Francisco County Jail.
Macay was held at the jail for about three days after a domestic dispute and died around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday after experiencing what officials said was “a medical emergency.”
A fundraiser was established on GoFundMe after Macay’s death to support expenses for his funeral, an autopsy and a lawyer to conduct an investigation into his death. “To know him was to love him,” a statement on the fundraiser’s page read. “There are stories about him across the entire Bay Area, leaving his mark as a joyful, goofy, wise man.”
Macay, a San Francisco native, was on the streets and struggled with chronic depression and drug addiction for more than 20 years, according to his son. He had a rough childhood, according to family members, and the absence of his father took a toll on him that he couldn’t reverse.
His family members said that despite his shortcomings, they want to remember the good things about him.
“My brother is still a human being,” his sister Karina Macay said. “He walked into that jail and left in a body bag. We all have our demons, some bigger than others, but he was a good guy with a big heart.”
Karina Macay said the San Francisco Medical Examiner called her to inform her of her brother’s death around Wednesday.
“I just thought no way, I just started crying,” she said. She was left with more questions than answers regarding his death.
The medical examiner said the officers at the jail said Jorge Macay was fine around 11:30 a.m. when they checked on him. He had been held in a detox unit and was under medical observation. At noon, officers found Macay unresponsive with a faint pulse, clinging to life. Medical personnel attempted to provide lifesaving measures to Macay for 45 minutes, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials said they do not believe Jorge Macay died by suicide and that his death is under investigation.
Jorge Macay’s son, 22year-old Jorge Carlos Macay Jr., said he was still in shock over his father’s death. He said his father experienced several lifeor-death situations but had always made it through.
Macay Jr. said that in a previous stint in jail, his father told him he was given the drug Librium, which caused him to have trouble breathing. Librium, known as chlordiazepoxide, is a medication used to treat withdrawal from alcohol and other drugs. It can cause serious side effects, such as difficulty breathing and an irregular heartbeat.
Macay Jr. did not know whether his father received Librium this time.
Karina Macay said she and her brother “bumped heads” often when talking about his drug addiction, but it was his way of masking 3:30 p.m.
the things that hurt him on the inside. “I never gave up on him,” she said.
She said although she loved him they hadn’t talked for a while. She said she never expected him to be gone so soon.
“He was my first friend,” she said. “My heart is broken and will never be the same. I walked him to and from school everyday, we’d play outside and ride bikes,” she said, recalling memories of their childhood.
Karina Macay said the one positive as a result of her brother’s death was that he is finally reunited with their mother.
“He’s been looking for her for 21 years, and now they’re together,” she said. “He’s free from his addiction and all the things that hurt him in this life.”
Jorge Macay’s life changed forever when he was 20. Just shortly after having his first child, Jorge Jr., he lost his mother, which Karina Macay said made life very difficult for him. “I don’t think he ever recovered,” she said. “There was an emptiness that never went away.”
Jorge Macay’s children
were used to him being in and out of their lives. The hardest part for Karina Macay was explaining to his kids that he was gone and not coming back.
“I told them their daddy loved them very much and he would always be with them,” she said, holding back tears.
“I remember him telling me how much he loved me,” Macay Jr. said. His siblings, 12-year-old Minnie and 8-year-old Malakai, were devastated by the loss.
When he was younger, Macay Jr. said, he didn’t fully understand the addiction his father was dealing with, but when he turned 16, he became aware of the effects it was having on him.
Macay Jr. said his father had been in and out of prison during his childhood starting when Macay Jr. was 3 years old. Around 2007, his father was released, and he remembered begging his mother to let him rebuild the relationship with his father.
“He was a good dad. Mentally, he wasn’t able to be there as much as I needed, but any time I needed him he was there without hesitation,” he said.
At last, after not speaking to each other for a few years, they talked the day Macay was arrested last week. The son recalled what his father had told him in their previous conversation: That if anything happened to him, Macay Jr. would have to be there for the family.