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Authorities in Georgia are investigating the death of Brianna Grier, who police claim fell out of a police cruiser after being arrested. Police cruisers are supposed to be locked from the inside at all times.
Grier, 28, died July 21st at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. She was transferred there from her home of Hancock County, Georgia, 100 miles southeast.
Grier had been arrested following what her family described as an acute mental health crisis. Grier lived with schizophrenia and took medication for the mental health disorder.
Although Grier had previously experienced acute mental health crises, during those times an ambulance was sent to her home. This time, however, police sent law enforcement to address her condition.
Brianna Grier dies in police custody after mental health crisis
On July 14, her family called the police, noting that Grier was in crisis and had been drinking. The police arrested her for intoxication rather than address her medical needs.
And that is when the trouble began. Grier was expected to be taken to the local police station, but never made it.
Now Grier’s grief-stricken family wants answers for her tragic death. Grier’s father, Marvin Grier, said. “Something went wrong and my daughter is gone.”
According to a text from Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina and an expert on police training, patrol cars are “ALWAYS supposed to be locked from the inside. Otherwise,” he stated, “prisoners would be letting themselves out all the time.”
Law enforcement is still investigating how Grier fell out of the police cruiser. Grier suffered two skull fractures which led her to be airlifted to the hospital in Atlanta, where she died from her injuries.
Grier was in a coma after her head injuries, and placed on a ventilator. According to her sister, Lottie Grier, a doctor then informed her family that Grier was brain-dead.
Grier’s death is still under investigation.
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