A $50 million tort claim has been filed by the family of Leon Davis as they seek the release of video footage showing him being held down against a hospital
A $50 million tort claim has been filed by the family of Leon Davis as they seek the release of video footage showing him being held down against a hospital room floor by multiple people, leading to his death in Federal Way earlier this year.
The claim alleges Davis, 27, died as a result of that prolonged restraint by police officers and hospital security staff on March 14.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide.
The medical examiner determined Davis died from cardiac arrest as he was being held in that prone position while experiencing alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
An autopsy found Davis was face down for at least 25 minutes and suffered blunt-force injuries to his neck, head, face, and wrist.
Shannice Johnson said she and other family members have struggled to get answers about her brother’s death ever since.
“It was just kind of the runaround,” Johnson said. “It’s upsetting and disappointing, you know, having hospital staff and doctors all around."
The tort claim is the first step toward a potential civil lawsuit. If a lawsuit reaches trial, a jury would determine any monetary award.
“We just want transparency. We want to know so we have closure,” Johnson said.
Sim Osborn, an attorney representing Davis' family, said authorities should also conduct a criminal investigation to determine if there was any criminal negligence or reckless conduct on the part of police or security staff.
“We are looking for accountability,” Osborn said. “We think the police should be investigated."
Along with the claim, the family is also demanding that investigators release body-worn camera footage, which remains under wraps more than five months after Davis' death.
Osborn said the video could provide answers about how Davis died and allow the public to see the actions taken by the officers and security personnel involved.
“The videos won't change, so why not turn them loose,” Osborn said. “Every second that they keep those videos, it just makes the public more distrustful of them."
Davis went to St. Francis Hospital in March after experiencing a racing heart and profuse sweating while going through alcohol withdrawal, according to his family. His family has questioned how a man who entered a hospital seeking medical treatment ended up dead after being held down as medical professionals watched.
Federal Way police said officers were dispatched to the hospital after receiving a report that a patient was assaulting hospital staff.
"Officers arrived and found the individual already on the ground but continuing to struggle with security personnel," police said in a statement previously provided to KOMO News. "Officers restrained the individual and placed them in handcuffs. Shortly after being detained, the individual experienced a medical emergency. Medical treatment was immediately provided; however, the individual later died at the hospital."
Prone restraint, in which a person is held face down, is not prohibited, but it can increase the risk of breathing problems, cardiac arrest, and death.
Davis’ death is being investigated by the Valley Independent Investigation Team, or VIIT, which looks into police use of deadly force in south King County.
A VIIT spokesperson had previously told KOMO News that the team's standard protocol is to withhold video from in-custody death investigations until the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office reviews the completed investigation and decides whether criminal charges should be filed.
An exception can be made if the police chief of the involved agency requests release because of an "urgent public interest" and prosecutors agree, the spokesperson said.
Attorneys said releasing the video would allow the public to independently assess the circumstances surrounding Davis' death and could provide his relatives with answers they have sought since March.
“You're trying to grieve but you can't fully grieve because you don't have all the answers. You don't know truly what happened,” Johnson said. “It's going to hurt either way to see it, but that's the only way we're going to know what happened in his final moments."
"He walked in there under his own power, asked for help, said, 'I don't feel good; help me.' And then he said, 'I want to leave,' and they wouldn't let him leave. They had no right to keep him there," Osborn said.
