Teen Dies In Police Custody After He Says He Can't Breathe
Complex
September 29, 2015
Category: Police State
Authorities are investigating the death of 18-year-old Terrell Day, who died in police custody in Indiana after suffering a fatal heart attack after complaining that he couldn't breathe.
He was pronounced dead shortly after the police claim that Emergency Medical Services concluded that he was "fit enough for jail" instead of a hospital, NY Daily News reports.
After the teen allegedly ran from a Burlington Coat Factory, where he's suspecting of shoplifting and pointing a gun at a loss prevention officer, he was found lying in the grass in distress. Police claim that they found a handgun lying next to him.
The police also claim that an ambulance was called and that professional EMS workers determined that he could be taken to a detention center, but his mother, Shanika Askew, disagrees. The police say that when he continued to complain, they called a second ambulance. But while he was being transported to the hospital, Day died of a heart attack. Day's mother said he should've been taken to a hospital when he first complained of pain.
"Why did they leave and have to come back?" she asked WTHR-TV, as she described Day as a "healthy young man who went to the gym and played basketball."
"Don't just determine there's nothing wrong with him, 'cause obviously, there was something wrong with him and they ignored it," she said.
The police say an investigation is underway. Unfortunately, this sounds like a familiar story.
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