Police in Tennessee 'mocked and bullied' former RI woman before death, family says
A former Rhode Island woman, who was disabled from a stroke, was "mocked and bullied" by police in Tennessee before she lost consciousness in a police cruiser and later died from another stroke, her family says.
Lisa Edwards, 60, who leaves four grandchildren in Rhode Island, died Feb. 6 at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville following a stroke sustained in police custody.
Edwards died shortly after returning to Tennessee from Rhode Island. She had moved to Rhode Island in December 2018 to be closer to family here, which includes two sons and four grandchildren, according to her daughter-in-law August Boylan.
Edwards' treatment by the police, caught on body camera footage, has caused an uproar in Knoxville, where residents decried the officers’ callousness as Edwards experienced a medical emergency, USA Today reported.
Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel said he was "disturbed and embarrassed" when he watched the videos of the incident. The four officers involved are on administrative leave pending an internal review but won't face criminal charges.
The police took Edwards, who used a wheelchair, into custody Feb. 5 after she was discharged from Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center but refused to leave.
According to District Attorney Charme Allen, Edwards had flown to Knoxville on Feb. 4. During the flight, she had abdominal pain and was taken to Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, TN, when she landed. After she was discharged, the DA's office said, Edwards sought more treatment at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. She was discharged the following morning but refused to leave, so security guards called police.
Footage showed Knoxville police officers struggling to get Edwards, who repeatedly told officers she couldn't breathe or stand, to enter a jail transport van, before they ultimately loaded her into a police cruiser, where she became completely unresponsive on the way to jail.
What did the body camera footage show?
A police video compilation from the Feb. 5 arrest shows how officers arrested her and what happened after she lost consciousness in the car.
Body and cruiser cam footage timeline:
The first officer arrived just before 8 a.m., about an hour after Edwards was discharged from the hospital.
Edwards told the officer she had a stroke and couldn’t walk, but he responds by telling her the hospital wants her gone.
The officer tells Edwards if she won’t leave, she is going to jail and would be charged with trespassing.
Officers and the jail transport van driver struggle for 30 minutes to get Edwards up and into the side compartment of the van. They repeatedly call her dead weight and complain that she won’t cooperate by standing or lifting her feet.
Edwards repeatedly tells officers and staff she can’t breathe or stand, but they respond by telling her she has been medically discharged and is fine.
After Edwards repeatedly asks for her inhaler, someone eventually finds the medicine and gives her the inhaler. Officers note that she is not using it correctly and one offers her a cigarette.
Officers repeatedly say they think she is “playing games.”
The police then decide to take her to jail in a regular police cruiser because it is easier than putting her in the van.
Edwards can be seen gasping and wheezing and falling back into a slumped position in the cruiser. Within 10 minutes, she has slipped out of sight and cannot be heard any longer. The officer drives another three minutes before he stops to help a motorist. It is another minute before he returns to the vehicle and finds Edwards unconscious.
The officer says he doesn’t know if she is faking, but says she is not answering him.
According to the Knox County District Attorney's Office, she was taken back to Fort Sanders hospital and died Feb. 6.
Edwards' family this week said it plans to sue the police department, and possibly the hospitals that treated her before her arrest.
Family says it's about 'human decency'
"I don’t know what kind of foggy glasses those officers were wearing," said Boylan, who is a registered nurse. "It was very clear she couldn’t use her left side. Her speech got slurred as things progressed, that's one of the first signs you see with a stroke. To me it’s very evident."
"They really didn’t do anything to help her," she said. "They were mocking her, swearing at her."
Boylan has started a GoFundMe page to help with legal fees and burial costs.
"The circumstances are absolutely tragic and heartbreaking. While there were multiple people/organizations who should have shown care and compassion to her, she got the exact opposite in so many ways," Boylan wrote on the fundraising page.
"To not fight for justice for her would make us as bad as those who mocked and bullied her in the end," she wrote.
The 'nightmare started' on flight to Tennessee
Edwards had been a longtime resident of Tennessee before moving to Rhode Island to be near her family, according to Boylan, who is married to Edwards' oldest son, Tim. They live in Coventry. Edwards' youngest son, Todd, also lives in Rhode Island. Edwards' survivors include three granddaughters and one grandson, ranging in age from 2 to 18, according to Boylan.
Edwards had a stroke in August 2019 that left her paralyzed on her left side, according to Boylan, and had been living in a Pawtucket nursing home. "Although she was physically disabled, she was not mentally disabled and was able to make her own decisions," Boylan said. She decided to move back to Tennessee to live with a friend.
"It was on that flight that this nightmare started," Boylan said.
Officers won't face criminal charges
The district attorney's office said none of the officers who handled Edwards' arrest will face criminal charges, citing a medical examiner's report that stated: “at no time did law enforcement interaction cause or contribute to Ms. Edwards’ death.”
Boylan reviewed the body camera footage with the district attorney on Feb. 22, the day before it was released to the public. The district attorney explained why she wouldn't pursue charges, but Boylan believes the officers should be charged.
"Involuntary manslaughter, I think, fits what happened that day," she said.
The four officers involved are Sgt. Brandon Wardlaw, officer Adam Barnett, officer Timothy Distasio and transportation officer Danny Dugan.
Boylan said the family wants to make sure there are policies in place that are effective and enforced. "This is about human decency," she said. "This shouldn’t happen to anybody."
Reporting by Liz Kellar and Orlando Mayorquin for USA Today was used in this story.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Police 'mocked and bullied' former RI woman before death, family says
