The counseling center where a 7-year-old patient suffocated after being restrained by staff members has been told that it cannot use control holds on patients unless the situation is "so dangerous that police must be called," a state spokeswoman said Friday.

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services gave the order to Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinic in Rice Lake as the agency continued its investigation of the incident, spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said.

Meanwhile, the Hennepin County medical examiner's office has ruled that the death of Angellika Arndt was from complications of chest compression asphyxia. She also suffered cardiopulmonary arrest, the medical report said.

The girl, a resident of Rusk County, Wis., died May 26 at Children's Hospital of Minneapolis, a day after police were called to the clinic on a report that she was unresponsive.

Barron County District Attorney Angela Holmstrom said that the death was a homicide -- caused by another person -- but that it's not clear whether the facts make it a crime. Prosecutors were still weighing criminal charges and none had been filed by Friday.

Denison Tucker, president of the clinic's board of directors, said the girl was held on her stomach on the floor as one staff member gripped her ankles and another held down her shoulders. She calmed down, was released and then passed out, he said.

He said a review determined that staff members followed proper procedures for the control hold, which he said is only used if a child is in danger of causing harm to themselves or other people. "We stand behind our staff," Tucker said Friday.

 

ASSOCIATED PRESS