Family members and dozens of other people rallied Friday in the rain to demand answers in the death of an inmate at the Metroplitan Detention Center.

The rally was held outside the Sunset Park facility.

Bureau of Prisons officials say Jamal Floyd, 35, was breaking a cell door window with a metal object. They say staff responded to the incident and used pepper spray, believing he would harm himself or others. Floyd became unresponsive and despite efforts to save him he died at a local hospital, according to staff at the detention center.

Floyd's family believes the pepper spray contributed to his death.

"I'm sick every day," says Donna Mays, Floyd's mother. "October was a very difficult month for me and with these holidays rolling by it's a lot. It's a toll on my family."

News 12 reached out to the Bureau of Prisons for a statement but did not hear back.