Video footage released last week shows at least six staff members restraining a teenage boy before giving him chest compressions while he appears unresponsive on the cafeteria floor.
Cornelius Frederick, 16, died in a hospital two days after the April 29 incident when six employees of Lakeside Academy, a Kalamazoo, Michigan facility that houses children in the foster care and juvenile justice system, tackled him to the floor and restrained him for 8-minutes after Frederick threw a sandwich at another teen. When the staff finally released him, they realized he was unconscious and attempted to resuscitate him before the clip ends.
According to the lawsuit filed by his family and a report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Frederick went into cardiac arrest following the incident. The local medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, NBC News reports.
The 18-minute video has no audio and does not appear to be continuous; according to CNN, multiple jump cuts appear in the video.
“It appears that the video is missing parts … we do not know at this time who took the parts out or what happened to them,” an assistant for Geoffrey Fieger, the representing attorney for Frederick, told CNN. Fieger is responsible for the release of the video.
Two staff members, Michael Mosely, 47, and Zachary Solis, 28, were charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse. The Kalamazoo prosecutor also charged the facility’s nurse Heather McLogan, 48, with the same charges, saying she failed to seek timely medical attention by calling 911 12-minutes after the restraint ended.
However, Mosley’s attorney Kiana Garrity claims her client was only following protocol and informed CNN that he entered a not guilty plea. Don Sappanos claims his client Solis also followed procedures given to him by superiors. “He is a gentle giant and had a great relationship with these kids,” Sappanos said.
Anastase Markou represents McLogan, who voluntarily surrendered and was released on a personal bond. “This is a terrible tragedy. Our hearts go out to his loved ones and the Kalamazoo community. However, justice cannot be served by an injustice,” Markou said in a statement. “My client, Heather McLogan, has done nothing criminal, and when the evidence is in, she will be vindicated.”
Meanwhile, Sequel Youth and Family Services, the owner of Lakeside Academy, previously told CNN that the staff members’ actions were not in line with the facility’s restraint policy.
“The restraint was not conducted in accordance with our policies and training. At Sequel, it is our policy to only use restraints as an emergency safety intervention in two situations: 1) when a student exhibits imminent danger to self and 2) when a student exhibits imminent danger to others, and in those cases to use the minimal level of intervention possible.”
At least three of the male staff members who restrained Frederick were over 6 feet tall and weighed 215 pounds or more, according to the June 17 investigation report, which added that the facility failed to follow state licensing rules regarding restraints.
Staff members allege the teenager verbally threatened to attack them when they released him, however, the lawsuit said the victim was already struggling and had said, “I can’t breathe” while he was being held down. Video shows that when Frederick was finally let go, staff members tried to sit him up, but he fell limp, he also urinated on himself.
“Unless you shine a light on insects and maggots, they proliferate,” Fieger told reporters on a teleconference call Tuesday. “Certainly, this type of behavior is not human. It can only be akin to a subhuman-type species that would inflict this behavior on children.”
Sequel fired 10 of its employees, including the three that are facing charges.
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