BOSTON (AP) – State and local officials are investigating the death of a developmentally disabled woman who was restrained by police officers at the group home where she lived.
Brenda Ellison, 42, appeared to go into cardiac arrest as she was restrained, police said. She was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Officers went to the home Friday night after receiving a report of a “woman out of control,” according to a police press release. Health care providers told police they had unsuccessfully attempted to restrain Ellison after she become violent.
When Ellison became increasingly hostile, officers restrained her.
Police spokeswoman Sharon Dottin did not identify the officers involved or the restraint technique used. The medical examiner’s office has not released a cause of death, she said Sunday.
JudyAnn Bigby, secretary of the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said Ellison’s death was a “very serious situation” being investigated by her department, Boston police and Vinfen, the nonprofit organization that operates the group home.
She said the Disabled Persons Protection Commission – a three-member panel appointed by the governor – also would investigate. The death is being probed by the police’s homicide unit and by internal affairs.
The group home in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood houses four residents and is operated by Vinfen under contract with the Department of Mental Retardation. Two staff members were on duty when the incident occurred, said Bruce Bird, Vinfen’s chief operating officer.
“Our preliminary information suggests everybody followed proper procedure in this,” he said of his staff. “Brenda spent over a decade with us in a productive and happy life and we will all miss her.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
