Terrell Day, dying of a heart attack, neglected on the ground as officers stand by

Terrell Day, dying of a heart attack, neglected on the ground as officers stand by

On September 26, high school senior Terrell Day had a heart attack and died in police custody. A disturbing new video of his arrest has emerged and it calls into question everything we were told about the arrest by police earlier in the week.

The video, taken by a bystander, is just under six minutes long and clearly shows Day in obvious physical distress—often slumped over, unable to stand, and, at times, appearing only semi-conscious. Throughout this entire time, Day, who police admit stated dozens of times that he could not breathe, had his hands cuffed behind him and was placed on his back.

In the video, what you will not see is any urgency on behalf of the police or the EMTs who casually come up and talk to police throughout the video.

Attorneys for Day's family believe it was the police's severe negligence that led to his death.



Day family attorney Nathaniel Lee said the teen ran more than 400 yards and was exhausted when officers found him. He called the way the youth was handled by officers "tantamount to a form of torture." Lee said police handcuffed the 5-foot-6-inch high school senior who weighed more than 250 pounds behind his back, placed him on his back and kept him in that position even as he struggled to breathe. "This is an 18-year-old who died, I think, unnecessarily," he said during a Thursday news conference with Day's mother and other relatives.

Based on police reports, it appears that Day was actually in distress for over 40 minutes while in police custody and that the video only shows a portion of this.

The bottom line is this: When a suspect repeatedly states that he is in distress, and the signs of this distress are obvious, he should receive the emergency medical attention that is needed. What we see on this video is a group of men who seem not to give even a small shit about whether Day lives or dies.

See the video below.

