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News > World

US: Black Woman Forcibly Removed from Hospital Dies 2 Hours Later

  • Florida resident Barbara Dawson refused to leave hospital care because she still felt bad, and ended up dead shortly after.

    Florida resident Barbara Dawson refused to leave hospital care because she still felt bad, and ended up dead shortly after. | Photo: Facebook

Published 25 December 2015
Opinion

Investigations continue into Barbara Dawson's death, while the family's lawyer, Daryl Parks, called the incident a “civil rights case.”

Investigations continue into the death of a Black woman, Barbara Dawson who was forcibly removed by police from a hospital in Florida, U.S. in the early hours of the morning and died two hours later.

According to local media Thursday, Daryl Parks, the attorney representing Dawson's family, said his firm is in the preliminary stages of investigating whether to file a lawsuit against the Blountstown Police Department who removed Dawson, the Calhoun Liberty Hospital where she was admitted, or both.

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Dawson was rushed to the Liberty Calhoun Hospital in Blountstown, Florida via ambulance Saturday after complaining of stomach pains. Within a few hours of being admitted she was cleared by hospital staff to go home, however the 57-year-old, who also suffered from breathing problems, insisted she was still not feeling well and refused to leave.

Hospital staff called local police to assist with the matter, who then handcuffed Dawson and forcibly removed her from the hospital at around 4:45 a.m Monday, arresting her for disorderly conduct and trespassing. She later collapsed out of the patrol car, still in handcuffs, when an officer opened the door. By 6:24 a.m., Dawson was pronounced dead.

A state medical examiner announced Wednesday that Dawson had passed away due to a blood clot in her lungs.

“You have a health side and a law enforcement side to it,” said Parks. “She is telling them that she is feeling a certain way and they decided that they need to get rid of her and use law enforcement to do just that. That deliberate indifference in this situation led to her death.”

Parks, a Tallahassee-based lawyer who has represented other Black families in cases of civil rights abuses, said this is a “civil rights case of modern proportions.”

“The most reasonable thing to do is to let her sit there and be able to settle down until she felt well. Instead, she is forcibly removed and put in cuffs,” said Parks. “The early facts of this case should cause a great concern for everyone.”

During a news conference later Wednesday, Calhoun Liberty Hospital CEO Ruth Attaway said the hospital will cooperate with investigators.

Attaway also seemed to divert blame by stating that Dawson died of a blood clot, which is “immediate and fatal” as well as “difficult to detect.”

“While we can't speak about her condition, we can generally address this medical condition. A pulmonary embolism is often immediate and fatal. It is difficult to detect and can be impossible to treat,” said Attaway.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials have been called in to investigate, according to the department spokesperson Steve Arthur.

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