A man died in police custody at a Dallas hospital in 2022 after being denied water and restrained by multiple hospital officers while complaining that he “couldn’t breathe,” a body released on Tuesday revealed. This was revealed on camera footage.
The disturbing incident, ruled a homicide, began on November 29, 2022, after a traffic stop where Kenneth Knotts, 41, was taken by police to UT Southwestern Medical Center for a mental health evaluation. It happened later.
“The men were mentally challenged and obviously irrational, but you don’t have to kill them to fully resolve the medical issue,” family attorney Jeff Henry said. dallas morning news.
At least three officers from the UT Southwestern Medical Center Police Department pushed Knotts on the back, causing him to scream and convulse before going silent, according to footage released by the newspaper. After a while, medical staff yelled, “There’s no pulse!” There’s no pulse! ”
The footage was reportedly obtained by Henry through a third-party subpoena from the city of Dallas. The newspaper said the hospital declined to release the footage or identify the officers involved, and had not previously announced the death.
After viewing the footage, the coroner reportedly ruled that officers were responsible for Mr Knott’s death, saying the man died of sudden cardiac arrest after being restrained in a “semi-prone position”. In other words, it was ruled a homicide. Authorities previously said the cause of death could not be determined.
Knotts was on a road trip from his hometown of Austin with his girlfriend and two young sons when police took him to the hospital, his mother said.
As their car approached Dallas, a tire went flat, and Knott told responding officers that Austin police were acting “unusual, belligerent, and spitting,” according to the incident report. He reportedly said that he was trying to kill her.
After police took him in for an evaluation, the shirtless man complained that the handcuffs were too tight and accurately predicted that he would be killed within minutes.
“Please don’t kill me,” he could be seen pleading. “Please don’t choke me.” His repeated requests for orange juice and water were refused because staff deemed him uncooperative. “We don’t feel safe with you,” the hospital worker explained.
After staff and hospital officers left the room, Knotts got off the bed and drank water from the tap while still handcuffed. Officers put the man back in bed, complaining that he needed more water.
As Knotts fidgeted, officers appeared to tighten his restraints or add new restraints.
When the patient asked, “What are you all doing?” he was simply told, “Stop, I’ll take the handcuffs off.”
As the officers continued to subdue him, he repeatedly asked for water, please.
Knotts then screamed, “I can’t breathe!” Officers were caught on camera pinning Eric Garner and George Floyd’s backs and limbs as he repeated the last words of those who died at the hands of police in New York City and Minneapolis. In all three cases, the victims in custody were black and the authorities were white.
As Knott’s body went limp, all but one of the more than half a dozen medical staff stood up.
“He wasn’t breathing, was he?” one of the medical staff asked, and when he seemed to remember the answer, he said “st.”
Henry said the footage showed Knotts was in good health until officers “restricted his ability to breathe.”
Last year, Henry held a press conference and announced that he would be filing a lawsuit against the hospital.
“We’re confident that the Southwest Texas Police Department is responsible for the murder of this man, but at least we won’t have a full explanation.” henry said.
“Nobody wanted to answer us,” her mother, Jocelyn Knotts, added at the time. “The only answer I have is that my son died and they don’t know why.”
A Dallas County grand jury in November declined to indict any police officers or medical personnel at the hospital in connection with the murder.
