A Georgia Woman Dies In Police Custody After She “Fell” Out Of A Patrol Car, Family Demands Answers
A Georgia Woman Dies In Police Custody After She “Fell” Out Of A Patrol Car, Family Demands Answers
Very sad news. A Georgia woman experiencing a mental health crisis died Thursday (July 21) following an incident that occurred when she was in police custody.
“in-custody incident with Hancock County Sheriff’s Office deputies,”
In their statement, the bureau said an early investigation into the death shows that deputies arrested Brianna Grier and were taking her to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office when she
“fell out of a patrol car and sustained significant injuries.”
According to their statement, deputies were called to a home in Sparta, GA on July 15 where they detained Brianna. The statement read,
“While deputies were taking Grier to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Grier fell out of a patrol car and sustained significant injuries. She later died because of those injuries.”
According to reports, Marvin Grier said his wife, Mary Grier called authorities on the night of July 14 because their daughter– who was diagnosed with schizophrenia nearly a decade ago and was medicated for the condition but used illegal drugs to cope– was having a mental health crisis. Brianna’s father said that during previous episodes, he has called authorities for help and ambulances were dispatched to the family’s home and provided their daughter the proper care in a medical setting. However, last week, two deputies came in a patrol car instead to the families surprise.
Marvin Grier said he watched the deputies handcuff his daughter and place her in the vehicle’s back seat. Sadly, she never made it to the jail. Around 6 a.m. on July 15, he said an officer came to the family’s home and said that Brianna “kicked the door open and jumped out of the car.” She suffered a head fracture and was airlifted to Grady Memorial. After being in a coma for a week, Brianna Grier was removed from the ventilator after being pronounced “brain dead.”
Mary Grier told sources,
“If I had known that it was going to turn out like this, God knows I wouldn’t have called them to come and get her.”
According to Geoffrey Alpert–an expert on police training–patrol cars are,
“ALWAYS supposed to be locked from the inside. Otherwise prisoners would be letting themselves out all the time.”
Brianna’s parent aren’t convinced that their daughter jumped out the car. Mary Grier explained,
“If she got out the car, they had to let her out the car. That’s my interpretation, because in a police car, you can’t open the door from the inside, so it had to be opened from the outside.”