Kentucky officials probing death of black girl in detention center

By Steve Bittenbender

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - Kentucky authorities are investigating the death of a 16-year-old black girl at a regional detention center last month, state justice officials said on Wednesday.

Gynnya McMillen died on Jan. 11 after her first night at the Lincoln Village Juvenile Detention Center in Elizabethtown, about 45 miles (72 km) south of Louisville.

McMillen’s death has sparked questions as family members have set up a Facebook page urging the state to release information on the case.

The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting said last week that guards at the juvenile facility used a martial arts maneuver to restrain her as they took off her sweatshirt.

The morning after being restrained, McMillen was found unresponsive in her room. State officials have acknowledged that the center’s staff failed to perform routine checks on her, and one employee has been placed on paid leave during the investigation.

The death is under investigation by the Kentucky State Police and the Internal Investigations Branch of the state Justice Cabinet, a spokeswoman for Justice and Public Safety Secretary John Tilley said.

Tilley "is ensuring the Cabinet is as transparent as possible with the restrictions imposed by juvenile confidentiality statutes,” the spokeswoman, Lisa Lamb, said in a statement.

”He is also committed to giving the family the answers they deserve as quickly as possible.”

Tilley has pledged an internal review will be carried out once the investigations are completed and any necessary reforms will be carried out quickly, Lamb said.

The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting said McMillen had been detained in Shelby County and charged with misdemeanor assault after an altercation with one of her parents.

(Editing by Ian Simpson and Peter Cooney)