JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A baby's death has turned into a rally against the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The family of Alani Asher wants police held accountable, so they held a vigil on Jacksonville's Southbank to keep the issue in the public eye.
"I thought at least I would be able to get to hold her and say goodbye, but it didn't happen that way," said Heather Asher, Alani's grandmother.
The last time Asher saw her granddaughter before she was embalmed, was in a paramedics arms as he carried her away.
Asher and her daughter Erin called 9-1-1 when they found the baby Alani not breathing.
"Why can't we just go to the hospital, say goodbye? We could be interviewed there, they have rooms specifically for that, I'm sure," said Asher. "But, they wouldn't let us leave."
They say officers kept them in the driveway for five hours - they wouldn't see her again for a full week after she'd been pronounced dead.
"I want changes with the Jacksonville sheriff's office," said Asher. "I want training for the Jacksonville sheriff's office and I want civilian oversight for the Jacksonville sheriff's office."
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said in a statement death investigations are homicide investigations, with a few exceptions, and it would be protocol to keep witnesses and/or potential suspects detained and separated from other witnesses and/or subjects.
Asher says she organized the vigil alongside groups like the Northside Coalition and Community Action Committee to keep attention on the issue.
"We don't want any other family to be treated the way we were," said Asher.
Asher says in addition to training, she'd also like to see the department send an advocate out on infant death calls to inform and comfort the family while the first responders tend to the baby.
She says JSO is planning a training, but the office hasn't received any details about when that will be or what it will look like yet.