Cornelius Fredericks Death – A 16-year-old teen, Cornelius Fredericks has died in Michigan Youth Center after being restrained.
It was reported that Fredericks was restrained by a staff member after throwing a sandwich. Three Staff members of the youth center, Michael Mosley of Battle Creek, Zachary Solis of Lansing and Heather McLogan of Kalamazoo, have been charged for the death of the teenager as announced on Wednesday by the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting.
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Fredericks died on May 1, two days after he lost consciousness while being restrained at Lakeside Academy by a staff and cause of death was confirmed as homicide by The Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner’s office.
The three staff members were charged with involuntary manslaughter and second -degree child abuse.
The prosecutor in charge say the accused employees are expected to turn themselves in for arraignment and described Fredericks death as “tragedy beyond description.”
According to the autopsy report, Fredericks was restrained on the ground which resulted to asphyxia. In Dr. Ted Brown’s words “In my opinion, the complications of him being restrained, on the ground in a supine position by multiple people, is ultimately what led to his death,”
Report has it that Lakeside Academy operator Sequel Youth and Family Services is in support of the charges against their former employees, “We will continue to fully cooperate throughout this process to ensure justice is served,” the company said in the statement. “Additionally, we are committed to making the necessary changes to ensure something like this never happens again within our organization.”
In an earlier statement by the Fredericks family attorney, Geoffrey Fieger,“It is time for the perpetrators to come clean,” as efforts to arraign the suspects is still unsuccessful.
The Fredericks family stated in a civil lawsuit filed on Monday against Lakeside Academy and Sequel Youth and Family Services, that the youth screamed “I can’t breathe” as the three staff members placed their weight on his chest. This led to the teen going into cardiac arrest April 29.
According to the lawsuit, “The excessive use of restraints and the lack of concern for Cornelius’ life draw an eerily similar comparison to that of George Floyd’s death,”
However, the Academy which is a facility for teenagers with behavioral issues, lost its contact and license to operate last week with the state of Michigan to care for youths in the state’s foster care and juvenile justice systems.