Kevin LaDay autopsy shows death due to PCP toxicity

KFDM News has learned the final autopsy report in the death of Kevin LaDay shows his death was an accident and due to PCP toxicity with nothing listed in the report to indicate he'd been beaten, Justice of the Peace Vi McGinnis tells KFDM News.

Judge McGinnis says the report was finalized Monday and she opened it Tuesday morning when she arrived at work.

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LaDay, 35, died April 30 after a struggle with officers in Lumberton.  Police Chief Danny Sullins told KFDM News Tuesday he believes the report vindicates his officers and the department.  LaDay's mother, Sandra, told KFDM News Tuesday she continues to believe officers beat her son and used excessive force.  The family had a second autopsy done in Arlington, Texas.  Sandra LaDay told KFDM News the autopsy has been completed and the family is waiting for the results.  Her son's body has been returned to Southeast Texas.  Private services for Kevin LaDay are set for Thursday and Friday.

The autopsy report was written by Dr. Tommy Brown, a licensed forensic pathologist.  The toxicology report was done by an independent lab in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. 

McGinnis says the report indicates LaDay died of PCP toxicity.  PCP is a hallucinogenic drug.

The report states:

Cause of Death: Phencyclidine (PCP) toxicity.

Manner of death: Accident

Comment: Postmortem toxicology showed a phencyclidine (PCP) level of 280 ng/ml on cardiac blood.  Case studies have shown a concentration as low as 100 and 200 ng/ml to have caused deaths in two men who were arrested and placed into physical restraints who died during police transport with no apparent anatomic explanations for death.  PCP is capable of causing: sedation, nystagmus, hypertension, ataxia, agitation, combativeness, seizures, spasticity, coma and respiratory depression.

Following a one car accident the decedent tried to elude the police.  A physical struggle ensued and the decedent was tasered.  He was finally subdued and handcuffed, with the hands in front, and shackled.  Shortly thereafter he died.

A National Institute of Justice Study on devices such as Taser: "Although exposure is not risk free, there is no conclusive medical evidence within the state of current medical research that indicates a high risk of serious injury or death from the direct effects of CED (Conducted-Energy Device) exposure."  In this case the PCP was the cause of death.  It is unknown how much, or if, the struggle with police, which would increase the heart rate and respirations, the minimally enlarged heart, the moderate coronary artery disease or being Tasered contributed to the death of the individual.

Some Taser advocates recognize the state of excited delirium which they use to describe deaths of suspects who become so agitated by drugs or psychosis that their bodies shut down during struggles with police.  In most deaths of persons Tasered, they have been agitated and/or under the influence of drugs after being stunned.  Excited delirium puts the Tasered person at potentially fatal health risks.

McGinnis tells KFDM she noted in the autopsy report discussion of two small lacerations near the eye but they are not mentioned later as contributing factors in the death.

McGinnis says the report also indicates LaDay had a mildly enlarged heart and moderate coronary artery disease.

LaDay's mother, Sandra, told KFDM News Tuesday that she had her son's body sent to Arlington, Texas for a second autopsy.

She says his body has been returned to Southeast Texas and she's waiting for the autopsy results.

LaDay claims pictures the family took of her son's body indicate to her that he was beaten by police in Lumberton.

"We find it very strange he had an overdose of PCP in his system and that he could drive from Beaumont to Lumberton," LaDay told KFDM News Tuesday. "I don't know about PCP or drugs-but if you look at the pictures-they show he was beaten. I stand by those words."

LaDay told KFDM News she's hired Milton Grimes, a Los Angeles attorney who worked on the Rodney King case, to assist the family. 

LaDay says a private service for Kevin LaDay will be held for relatives Thursday in Beaumont.

Another private service for friends will be held Friday.

KFDM News spoke with Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins Tuesday morning.

"I feel like my officers have been vindicated and the report speaks for itself," Chief Sullins told KFDM News.  "Citizens have been very supportive of the police officers and the department from the beginning.  I stand behind my officers as I have from the beginning. They did nothing wrong.  I remain saddened for the LaDay family and their loss."

Sullins says the F.B.I. and the Texas Rangers continue their investigation.

"I feel confident it'll clear us," said Sullins. 

F.B.I spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap in Houston told KFDM News Tuesday its review is routine.

She said the investigation continues, and the autopsy, along with all of the other information, will be included and forwarded to the Department of Justice in Washington for final review.

She says by doing that, the F.B.I. can maintain the public trust that a third party is reviewing the case.

LaDay's mother, Sandra LaDay, tells KFDM News she continues to believe officers beat her son and killed him, but Chief Sullins has strongly denied the allegations. He says two officers were involved in a struggle to get LaDay into custody and he became unconscious. Sullins says the officers used a Taser at least once to restrain LaDay because he continued to struggle with them. He says they never struck LaDay with their fists and were only trying to hold onto him and get him into custody.

On May 4 Quannel X and the New Black Panthers based in Houston held a rally in Lumberton to protest LaDay's death.  The group claimed LaDay was killed by Lumberton police.

The leader of the New Black Panthers tells KFDM News he won't apologize to Lumberton Police, despite an autopsy report exonerating them in the death of Kevin LaDay.

Tuesday morning KFDM News spoke by phone with Quanell X in Houston.

"I find it very strange and suspicious because the autopsy report summary says accidental overdose but how can they classify it as that?" said Quanell X.  "Are they saying he'd never have died if he hadn't encountered Lumberton P.D.?  Those findings are very suspicious to me.  But we will have an independent pathologist go over the entire report, and we reserve the right to hold our position that this man shouldn't have been dead until a pathologist tells the family his cause of death.  I don't trust county medical examiners.  We know there was a scuffle, an altercation, a fight.  If they say that had nothing to do with it, are they saying he would not have died if he hadn't come into contact with Lumberton Police?"

Quanell X says he won't offer an apology to the Lumberton community, at least not yet.

"It's extremely too early to offer an apology," said Quanell X. "I would never apologize unless we determine his death is due to natural causes. We've always seen medical examiners go along with police officers time and time again. White folks in America have never apologized to blacks for slavery. What the hell would I look like as a black man for apologizing for the death of a black man under what I call very suspicious circumstances?  When whites apologize to African American people, then we can talk about a mutual apology."

The F.B.I. is conducting a civil rights investigation into the death.

Chief Sullins tells KFDM News the case began when his department received several calls early in the morning on April 30 about a car in a ditch on Pine Burr Loop near Highway 96.

Sullins says officers responded at about 3:30 a.m. to the area, which is near a nursing home, and arrived within minutes.

"Shortly after arriving they found a 35 year old man walking in the area near the credit union," Chief Sullins told KFDM News.

"Officers spoke with him and while they were talking with him he ran away toward the highway. They tried to take him into custody. There was a struggle lasting several minutes. They used a Taser."

Sullins isn't sure if they had to deploy the Taser more than once. He says officers didn't hit LaDay and didn't beat him.

"They didn't beat him and didn't use a choke hold," said Sullins. "They were trying to hold onto him and get him into custody. They didn't strike him. They handcuffed him in front. He was on the ground the entire time. He then became unconscious. EMS was called to the scene. They did CPR and he was then taken to Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth. Justice of the Peace Vi McGinnis pronounced him dead later this morning."

Chief Sullins says the case is under investigation by his department and several other agencies.

"The F.B.I. agent in charge of this area said they'd be investigating," said Sullins. He said he got a call from someone. I asked the Texas Rangers to investigate. I welcome an outside investigation. I want transparency."

Hardin County Sheriff Ed Cain tells KFDM News two of his deputies responded to a report of an officer needing assistance.  Sheriff Cain says to his knowledge there is no evidence LaDay had been beaten.

Sullins says this is the first time someone has died while police were trying to detain them since he has been with the department.

"I've been with the Lumberton Police Department for more than 20 years and we've never had this happen," said Sullins. "I've been Chief for 1 1/2 years and we've never had use of force complaints. I'm so proud of my officers because of that. It's a tough job."

He says the two officers remain on duty.

"I feel badly for the man's family," said Chief Sullins. "Any time something like this happens we're saddened for the family. No one wants this to happen. No one more than the family, certainly. Nor would the officers want this to happen. Our job is to preserve lives and protect people. Our hearts go out to the LaDay family."