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Thursday, December 15, 2016

New autopsy: man in police struggle died of asphyxiation

BALTIMORE (AP) — An independent autopsy on a man who had a fatal encounter with Baltimore police says he died of asphyxiation while being restrained, not of a heart condition as the state’s autopsy found.

Tyrone West, 44, died after a struggle with police following a July 2013 traffic stop. The Maryland Office of the Medical Examiner ruled that he died of a heart condition in extremely hot weather.

His sister, Tawanda Jones, who holds a weekly vigil seeking justice in West’s death, commissioned the new autopsy. Jones has urged Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to reopen the case, but Mosby has said that without new evidence, she won’t.

West, who is African-American, died after being arrested on July 18, 2013. Police said they pulled the man over for backing down a street into an intersection. After officers asked West to get out of the car and sit on the curb, they spotted a bulge in one of his socks and suspected drugs, police have said.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mosby is probably a little gun shy about going after the cops again.

Anonymous said...

A common symptom of a "heart condition" is the inability to get enough oxygen into the bloodstream. That is another name for asphyxiation. The two autopsy reports could both be accurate, and not necessarily indicate any wrongdoing by the cops. One can be asphyxiated by any lack of oxygen, be it carbon monoxide poisoning, choking on a piece of food, lack of heart function, heart attack, or being choked, just to name a few. The lawyers all know that they (and the family) will get a huge payout from Baltimore if they can come up with a way to ALLEGE any wrongdoing on the cops part during the arrest. Yes, we all remember Freddy Grey. No convictions for any police wrongdoing, but huge money to the family.

Anonymous said...

If you struggle with the police I really don't care what happens to you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Quincy, MD.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
If you struggle with the police I really don't care what happens to you.

December 15, 2016 at 1:37 PM

So you're an idiot. Merry Christmas.