PAPD Chief won't bow to pressure from Quanell X

New Black Panther leader Quanell X held a news conference to protest the handling of a baby death investigation, but Port Arthur Police Chief Mark Blanton tells KFDM News his officers will follow the law and do their jobs without bowing to any pressure from the Panthers.

The head of the New Black Panther Party in Houston spoke Tuesday morning at the home of the baby's family to discuss the December 15 death of 7-week-old Jashuandric Kellar. Quanell X took issue with the fact police are investigating the death as a homicide.

He called the death a tragic accident and not a homicide. He said it was an accident based on ignorance but not criminal intent to harm the child.

A preliminary autopsy shows the Port Arthur infant was placed near a humidifier and heater and died of cardiolpulmonary arrest due to severe heat exposure and thermal burns, according to information provided to KFDM News by Justice of the Peace Tom Gillam, who told KFDM News that Dr. Tommy Brown's preliminary autopsy report indicated the death was an accident.

Keller had been placed near a humidifier and was discovered with burns so severe the skin on his entire body had peeled, according to Gillam. He told KFDM that the infant was in an ambulance when he pronounced the baby dead.

The Port Arthur Fire Department and EMS received a call at 6:32 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15 about an unresponsive infant in the 18 hundred block of Houston Avenue. First responders called the Port Arthur Police Department.

The death is under investigation by Port Arthur Police and Child Protective Services.

Port Arthur Police Chief Mark Blanton spoke with KFDM News about the investigation and Quanell X's comments.

"Investigating the death as a homicide is standard procedure," Chief Blanton told KFDM News. "We made no arrest at the scene. We will collect the facts and the case will be presented to a grand jury for its determination. I have already spoken with the D.A's Office and that's how they'll be handling it."

Blanton also offered his thoughts about Quanell X's visit.

"He can come if he wants to," said Chief Blanton. "We handle everything in accordance with the law and common-sense policy."

Quanell X was in Lumberton on May 4 to protest the death of Kevin Laday. He claimed law enforcement officers beat LaDay. An autopsy done by Dr. Tommy Brown indicates Laday died of a PCP overdose.

Judge Gillam told KFDM News when he arrived the baby was already in an ambulance and was dead.

The steam from the humidifier had caused the skin to peel on the baby's entire body, according to Gillam, who told KFDM News a humidifier was in a car seat on the floor of the baby's bedroom.

Shari Pulliam with Child Protective Services told KFDM News the infant lived at the home with his 20-year-old mother and grandmother. Pulliam says according to the family, the child had been diagnosed with breathing problems.

"The child was placed was in a car seat on the floor, with a humidifier next to him," said Pulliam. "A plastic sheet was placed over the humidifier and car seat with the infant in it. There was an oil pan heater on the floor, outside the plastic tent covering the baby and the humidifier. That heated the steam and the baby was burned on 80 percent of his body. The mistake was placing the heater next to the humidifier. It appears to be a tragic accident."

Pulliam told KFDM News has removed a 12-year-old relative from the home, pending the outcome of the investigation.

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