An attorney for MetroHealth System said Monday the hospital is not at fault for the death of Tasha Grant, a Cuyahoga County jail detainee.
Grant died in May soon after being restrained by police officers in her hospital room.
“When looking at this case, there is absolutely nothing but clear evidence that everything was done right by the officers involved in this case," MetroHealth’s counsel Ian Friedman said during a news conference.
The county medical examiner’s office ruled the death a potential homicide, finding that Grant, a double amputee, died from cardiac arrest 13 minutes after restraint ended.
Friedman said the fact that the county opened a criminal investigation should not be interpreted as a sign of guilt.
"Just because there is a criminal investigation does not suggest at all that there was any criminal conduct," Friedman said. "It is only because the coroner's report came out the way that it did that there are open-ended questions.”
In an email, the Grant family’s attorneys said, in part, that video of the incident shows Grant was “treated inhumanely and was literally suffocated by MetroHealth police officers.”
MetroHealth's president and CEO, Dr. Christine Alexander-Rager, addressed the feelings behind the incident.
"To all who loved and cared for her, we offer our deepest condolences," Alexander-Rager said. "Tasha was well known to the Metro Health family and meant so much to our community."
According to a preliminary autopsy report, there is video showing Tasha Grant having her “chest and abdomen against the side of the hospital bed with pressure placed on posterior neck and back.” The cause of death is described as: “Physical restraint in the setting of congestive heart failure.”
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley named a special prosecutor to review her death several months later.
But the hospital believes those police officers acted properly, Friedman said.
“When looking at this case, there is absolutely nothing but clear evidence that everything was done right by the officers involved in this case," he said.
The family's attorneys rejected that sentiment.
"What's most disappointing is listening to MetroHealth's CEO talk about how the hospital cared so much about Tasha Grant but to this day, nobody from the hospital has reached out to the family to offer their condolences or support," the statement said.
The family's attorneys said they are undertaking their own, independent investigation into her death.
