The family of Lisa Edwards say they are outraged by the hospital officials who called the cops as well as the officers who didn’t take her cries for help seriously. She died from a stroke one day after being taken into police custody.
The family of a 60-year-old woman who died after having a stroke one day after police in Tennessee took her into custody say they are outraged by the hospital officials who called the cops as well as the officers who didn’t take her cries for help seriously.
Lisa Edwards had just been released from a hospital but reportedly told workers there she could not walk out on her own. When she would not leave, the hospital called police and she was arrested for trespassing.
Video footage released by the Knoxville Police Department shows officers mocking Edwards and accusing her of faking mobility and breathing problems. They also ignore her repeated pleas for help.
“Just stop,” one officer says.
“We have had enough of your mess,” Edwards is told at another point.
Video shows Edwards being left on the freezing ground, asking for help up, and officers offering her a cigarette as she begs for her inhaler. Edwards says she is unable to breath, needs help sitting up and that she’s going to have a stroke.
“I’m gonna die,” she says at one point. Her breathing is heavy, and she is slurring her words throughout the interaction.
The officers eventually drag Edwards to a police cruiser and lay her across the back seat to take her to jail.
“Take me to the hospital,” Edwards says.
“You’re fine back there. Stop it,” she’s told.
The next day, Edwards was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“For me as a family member and a nurse, it is very hard for me to watch” the footage, Edwards’ daughter-in-law tells Inside Edition. “You do not need to be a medical professional to see that she was in severe distress. Edwards’ son says watching the recording is unbearable, while her mother-in-law says she is outraged by the hospital’s actions and police’s treatment.
“Why did they have to leave her in scrubs to be humiliated like that out on the street in 20-degree weather,” she says.
Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel said he was “disturbed and embarrassed” by the treatment of Edwards.
“I was disturbed and embarrassed by what I saw in the video,” Noel said in a statement. “My expectation is that our officers treat every person they encounter, regardless of the context or situation, with respect, dignity and basic decency. We should also take pride in helping those who need it.”
The District Attorney’s office is not charging the officers, citing the coroner’s report that said an autopsy determined that “at no time did law enforcement interaction cause or contribute to Ms. Edwards’ death.”
Edwards’ family disagrees and plans to sue the police department and the hospital.
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