‘Get Off Me. I Can’t Breathe.’ Philadelphia Teenager Dies After Struggle at Treatment Center
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Version 0 of 1. Citing “gross incompetence,” Pennsylvania has moved to revoke the license of a treatment center for troubled young people and to relocate dozens of residents after a 17-year-old boy died in a confrontation with staff members, according to documents from the state. The report from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, dated Monday and first obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer, describes a confrontation that began after 8 p.m. on Oct. 13 at Wordsworth Academy in northwest Philadelphia. During the struggle, the report says, one staff member punched the boy, referred to as Child #1 in the documents, in the ribs multiple times while another held his legs. It describes the scene’s conclusion as told to investigators by other residents who witnessed it: “The children also then overheard Child #1 yelling ‘get off me, I can’t breathe’ and then everything went silent.” The boy, who was not identified, was pronounced dead by emergency responders. “I can’t breathe” were also the last recorded words of Eric Garner, who died after a New York police officer placed him in a chokehold. Since Mr. Garner’s death in 2014, the phrase has become a rallying cry for civil rights activists around the country and one of the most recognizable slogans associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. The Philadelphia police confirmed that the victim was 17 and black. A statement provided by Officer Tanya Little, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police department, said that the police responded to a call from the academy at about 9 p.m., and discovered the victim lying unresponsive on the floor. He was pronounced dead at 9:36 p.m., the police said. Their statement contradicts that of the state, which said he was pronounced dead 15 minutes later, at 9:51 p.m. The investigation was ongoing, the police said. Debbie Allen, a spokeswoman for Wordsworth Academy, said “five staff members were suspended without pay immediately following the incident, as per Wordsworth’s policy.” In a statement released on Wednesday, the academy said that it was “saddened by the death of a resident in our residential treatment facility” and “devastated at allegations brought against us.” “Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, we are limited in our ability to comment on the various allegations raised,” the statement said. Wordsworth said it was “fully cooperating” with the investigators. It has 11 days to appeal the state’s decision to revoke its license. The confrontation between the boy and the staff members is described through several of the documents, in which the state lists multiple violations of which the center is accused. The report says several staff members were involved in the confrontation, which began when a person identified as “Staff Member A” went into the victim’s bedroom to search for an iPod that the 17-year-old had been accused of stealing from another resident, “Child #2.” Staff Member A flipped the victim’s bed over and threw furniture around during the search, the documents say. The iPod was found in a soap box. At some point, staff members heard the noise of breaking glass come from the room, the documents say, and after the search, the victim was “exhibiting aggressive behavior.” Staff Member A started punching the boy in the ribs while another person, “Staff Member B,” held the victim’s legs, the report says. The boy began gasping for breath and then stopped moving. Children standing outside in the hallway told investigators they could hear him yelling, “I can take this. That’s the only thing you got? Give me more. I eat those, and I can take those.” The police department’s account of the incident, which was preliminary, said that staff members had found the victim barricading the door after his room had been searched. After he ignored instructions to stop, the police said, three staff members entered his room. “They told him to calm down, but he started yelling and striking them,” the police department’s statement said. “While attempting to gain control of the 17-year-old male, he lost consciousness.” |