In September, 29-year-old St. Louis-native Anna Brown went to three hospitals complaining of leg pain after spraining her ankle. When she refused to leave the third hospital, the St.Mary’s Health Center, she was arrested for trespassing. Shortly after the arrest, the young woman who had been experiencing homelessness for some time died in jail. Her family has now hired an attorney, The Associated Press reported.
“If the police killed my daughter, I want to know,” said Brown’s mother, Dorothy Davis. “If the hospital is at fault, I want to know,” she added, “I want to be able to tell her children why their mother isn’t here.” Davis has been taking care of her two grandchildren since Brown lost custody of them in April.
When the police officers showed up at the hospital, Brown had refused to leave. She was yelling from a wheelchair that her legs hurt so badly she couldn’t stand, but that did not make the policemen give in. She was wheeled out in handcuffs by an officer after a doctor said she was healthy enough to be locked up.
Fifteen minutes after arriving to the police station where she had been dragged to the cell by her arms and left on the floor, a jail worker found her dead.
St. Mary’s officials say they did all they were supposed to do for Brown and acting Police Chief Maj. Roy Wright told the wire service that his officers had no way of knowing Brown’s dire condition.
“A lot of times people don’t want to stay in jail and will claim to be sick,” he said. “We depend on medical officials to tell us they’re OK.”
No lawsuit has been filed, but the family wants answers.
