Sadly, a wheelchair-bound 60-year-old woman died from a stroke in police custody after her multiple requests for assistance were ignored, Insider reports.
On Feb. 5th, Lisa Edwards suffered a stroke under the supervision of the Knoxville Police Department. Edwards was reportedly in custody at the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center where she was treated for constipation after complaining about feeling abdominal pain. She was discharged the next morning at around 7 a.m. but
“refused to leave,”
according to the outlet.
Hospital security called the Knoxville Police Department who arrived shortly after, arresting Edwards for trespassing.
In recently released body cam footage you can hear several officers taunting Edwards and accusing her of faking her illness.
“Ma’am, listen, you’re going to have to get up there, because we’re going to have to physically put you up there if not, and that’s not nice, so please help us help you,”
one officer is heard saying, per the footage. When Edwards explains to the officers that she could not breathe and needed her inhaler one officer rummaged through her purse and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
“Do you want a cigarette?”,
the officer asked.
They went on to mock Edwards calling her
“dead weight”
and claiming
“it’s all an act,”
as she exhibited
“clear signs”
of someone having a stroke. Family members of Edwards told the outlet that she previously suffered from a stroke in 2019 and was aware of the symptoms. Edwards is heard telling officers, before passing out on the ground, that she is going to have a stroke, the footage reveals.
The DA’s office said they have placed four officers on administrative leave but will not be will not press criminal charges against them.
“Specifically, Ms. Edwards was not beaten by the police, she was never subdued, there was no physical struggle between law enforcement and Ms. Edwards, and there was no restraint asphyxia,”
it said.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
