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Three Charged in Death of Michigan Teenager Restrained at Youth Academy
Michigan Teenager Died After Being Restrained at Youth Academy
(about 8 hours later)
Three staff members at a youth academy in Michigan were charged on Wednesday with causing the death of a 16-year-old boy who was killed after two of them put their weight across his chest and abdomen and the third failed to seek medical attention, according to a county prosecutor.
A 16-year-old boy died days after he repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” as employees at a youth academy in Michigan put their weight on his chest, abdomen and legs to restrain him, according to state officials and a lawsuit filed on behalf of the boy’s aunt.
The teenager, Cornelius Fredericks, who was black, was one of about 125 children at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Mich., which offers programs for children with behavioral problems and other challenges. He had said “I can’t breathe” as he was being restrained, according to a lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of Cornelius’s aunt on Monday.
The teenager, Cornelius Fredericks, was held down on April 29 after throwing food, according to a state report and the lawsuit, filed on Monday in Circuit Court in Kalamazoo County. Video from Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Mich., shows a staff member “placing his/her weight directly on Cornelius’s chest for nearly 10 minutes as Cornelius lost consciousness,” the lawsuit said.
Cornelius’s name has been featured in protests spurred by the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, who died last month after uttering the same anguished plea while a police officer knelt on his neck.
Geoffrey Fieger, the lawyer for Cornelius’s aunt, Tenia Goshay, who is named as the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in an interview on Wednesday that he had spoken to several parents of children at the academy. Mr. Fieger said the children had told their parents that Cornelius had repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” as he was being restrained.
Two of the academy workers, Michael Mosley, 47, and Zachary Solis, 28, were charged with involuntary manslaughter for restraining Cornelius in a grossly negligent manner, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, said Jeffrey S. Getting, the prosecuting attorney in Kalamazoo County.
“Cornelius’s scream of ‘I can’t breathe’ was not enough to get the staff members to stop the excessive restraint,” the lawsuit said. He went into cardiac arrest, was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead on May 1. It also said Cornelius was found to be positive for the coronavirus.
Mr. Mosley and Mr. Solis were also charged with two counts each of child abuse, crimes that are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Mr. Getting said.
The defendants, Lakeside Academy and Sequel Youth and Family Services — the company that supplied the academy with management services and staff members — declined to comment on the lawsuit because it was a pending legal matter. Sequel Youth and Family Services said on Wednesday that it had fired Lakeside’s executive director and all of the staff members involved, and that it was cooperating with investigators.
The third staff member, Heather McLogan, a nurse, was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of child abuse, Mr. Getting said, after she saw Mr. Mosley and Mr. Solis restrain Cornelius and failed to seek, obtain or follow through with timely medical care.
Cornelius, who was black, was one of about 125 children at Lakeside Academy, which offers programs for children with behavioral problems and other challenges. His name has featured in protests spurred by the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, who died last month after uttering the same anguished plea while a police officer knelt on his neck.
Cornelius was held down on April 29 after throwing food, according to a state report and the lawsuit filed on behalf of his aunt, Tenia Goshay, in Circuit Court in Kalamazoo County.
Cornelius’s death has also prompted the state to re-examine its policies concerning the restraining of children. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services started an investigation and found 10 licensing violations at Lakeside.
Video footage from Lakeside Academy shows a staff member “placing his/her weight directly on Cornelius’s chest for nearly 10 minutes as Cornelius lost consciousness,” the lawsuit said.
Last week, the department’s Division of Child Welfare Licensing delivered the results of that investigation. In a 63-page report addressed to Lakeside, it recommended that the academy’s license be revoked because of the 10 violations, which included a failure to follow rules related to restraint and discipline.
Cornelius died on May 1, and his death was determined to be a homicide resulting from “restraint asphyxia,” according to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Kalamazoo.
Mr. Getting said he had watched the video of Cornelius being held down.
“It’s impactful because you know what the outcome is,” he said. “You know what you’re watching is a person being killed.”
Donald Sappanos, Mr. Solis’s lawyer, said he planned to hire a private pathologist to provide a second opinion on the cause and manner of Cornelius’s death.
He said his client worked in a “very corporate environment” where he received on-the-job training, classes and handbooks that outlined the procedures staff members were supposed to use when restraining residents.
“Clearly, my client believes he followed the procedures to a T that he was taught,” Mr. Sappanos said. “There were no punches thrown, no kicks, nobody touched the boy’s head or throat that I’m aware of. The boy was restrained, and I think there are other contributing factors that led to his death.”
Kiana Carolyn Garrity, Mr. Mosley’s lawyer, said her client planned to turn himself in.
“It’s my understanding, by talking to my client and witnesses at the scene, that Mr. Mosley was following Lakeside protocol at all times,” Ms. Garrity said.
She said she had not yet received video footage of the episode.
“That said, Mr. Mosley was a youth counselor — a subordinate — while others on scene were superior personnel,” she said. “Lakeside officials have released a version of events — multiple times to the media — that deflects responsibility from their own employee policies and procedures.”
It was not immediately clear if Ms. McLogan had a lawyer, and calls to numbers listed under her name were not immediately returned.
In an interview Wednesday, Mr. Fieger, the lawyer for Cornelius’s aunt, said that he had spoken to several parents of children at the academy.
Mr. Fieger said the children had told their parents that Cornelius had repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” as he was being held down.
“Cornelius’s scream of ‘I can’t breathe’ was not enough to get the staff members to stop the excessive restraint,” the lawsuit said. He went into cardiac arrest, was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead. It also said that Cornelius was found to be positive for the coronavirus.
The defendants, Lakeside Academy and Sequel Youth and Family Services — the company that supplied the academy with management services and staff members — declined to comment on the lawsuit because it was a pending legal matter.
Sequel Youth and Family Services said on Wednesday that it had fired Lakeside’s executive director and all of the staff members involved, and that it was cooperating with investigators.
“We strongly support the decision of the prosecutor’s office to bring criminal charges, which was based on a very thorough law enforcement investigation,” Sequel said in a statement. “We will continue to fully cooperate throughout this process to ensure justice is served.”
Cornelius’s death has prompted the state to re-examine its policies concerning the restraining of children. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services started an investigation and found 10 licensing violations at Lakeside.
Last week, the department’s Division of Child Welfare Licensing delivered the results of that investigation. In a 63-page report, it recommended that the academy’s license be revoked because of the 10 violations, which included a failure to follow rules related to restraint and discipline.
The division said that after throwing bread in the cafeteria, Cornelius, identified as Resident A, was pushed from his seat onto the floor. One staff member initiated the restraint, and “several were observed on the video with their weight on Resident A’s chest, abdomen and legs, making this an unsafe and excessive restraint,” the report said.
The division said that after throwing bread in the cafeteria, Cornelius, identified as Resident A, was pushed from his seat onto the floor. One staff member initiated the restraint, and “several were observed on the video with their weight on Resident A’s chest, abdomen and legs, making this an unsafe and excessive restraint,” the report said.
The report, which used the video as a source, described the response as “significantly disproportionate to the behavior.”
At one point in the video, a staff member leans on Cornelius while a case manager pushes on that employee’s back, according to the report.
The report also described a previous incident during which Cornelius was restrained, on Jan. 4, as a staff member leaned on Cornelius while a case manager pushed on that employee’s back.
After four minutes, the boy stops moving. After about five more minutes, the staff members “release their hold, get up and there is no sign of struggle,” the report said. “The restraint, however, is not ended for 32 minutes, when the remaining staff release his arms and sit him up. Resident A appears unsteady when he stands, and staff escort him by both arms out of camera view.”
In a video of that incident, a staff member leans on Cornelius while a case manager pushes on that employee’s back, according to the report.
The report described the response as “significantly disproportionate to the behavior.”
After four minutes, Cornelius stops moving. After about five more minutes, the staff members “release their hold, get up and there is no sign of struggle,” the report said. “The restraint, however, is not ended for 32 minutes, when the remaining staff release his arms and sit him up. Resident A appears unsteady when he stands, and staff escort him by both arms out of camera view.”
In the report, one of the children who witnessed the episode said that he heard Cornelius “struggling for breath and said that sometimes staff hold residents ‘where your breathing is.’” Another child said he had heard Cornelius say at least twice that “he couldn’t breathe during the restraint,” the report said.
In the report, one of the children who witnessed the episode said that he heard Cornelius “struggling for breath and said that sometimes staff hold residents ‘where your breathing is.’” Another child said he had heard Cornelius say at least twice that “he couldn’t breathe during the restraint,” the report said.
After Cornelius became “limp and unresponsive,” the staff members expressed concern about his breathing, coloring and pulse, according to the report. Another 12 minutes passed before 911 was called, the report continued.
After Cornelius became “limp and unresponsive,” the staff members expressed concern about his breathing, coloring and pulse, according to the report. Another 12 minutes passed before 911 was called, it said. Cornelius was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo and was put on life support, the lawsuit says.
Cornelius was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo and was put on life support, the lawsuit said.
The cause of death on May 1 was “suspected to be cardiac arrest due to restraint,” the state report said, adding that autopsy results were not available. The coroner’s office did not reply to a call on Wednesday.
On June 18, the state’s health department said it had ended its contracts with Lakeside and had started the legal process to revoke its license. The remaining children there have been relocated, it said.
On June 18, the state’s health department said it had ended its contracts with Lakeside and had started the legal process to revoke its license, adding in a statement that Cornelius had been “wrongly restrained by staff.” The remaining 125 children there have been relocated, it said.
Mr. Fieger said Cornelius was at Lakeside as a ward of the state because his mother was dead and his father was unable to care for him.
Mr. Fieger, the lawyer, said Cornelius was at Lakeside as a ward of the state because his mother was dead and his father was unable to care for him.
“It was a tragedy and an outrage,” Robert Gordon, the department’s director, said on Monday. “We cannot bring this young man back to life, but we will not rest until we have changed the system that allowed his death.”
“It was a tragedy and an outrage,” Robert Gordon, the department’s director, said on Monday. “We cannot bring this young man back to life, but we will not rest until we have changed the system that allowed his death.”
“We will cease to allow physical restraints like the ones that cost this young man his life,” he said.
“We will cease to allow physical restraints like the ones that cost this young man his life,” he said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday directed Mr. Gordon to “take every step necessary” to ensure that Sequel Youth and Family Services no longer works with facilities licensed by the department. Sequel said on Wednesday that it was “committed to making the necessary changes to ensure something like this never happens again within our organization.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday directed Mr. Gordon to “take every step necessary” to ensure that Sequel Youth and Family Services no longer works with facilities licensed by the department. Sequel Youth and Family Services said in a statement on Wednesday that it was reviewing its options.
The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office is examining whether there will be charges, said Jeffrey Getting, the prosecuting attorney.
