Doctor: Boot Camp Teen Likely Suffocated
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Mar 17, 6:20 PM (ET)
By BILL KACZOR
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(AP) Shantella Parker, 16, right,
gathers with hundreds of others for
a candlelight vigil in
remembrance...
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A teen who died after guards
punched and kicked him at a boot camp likely was suffocated
during the confrontation and was brain dead when he was
brought to a hospital, a pathologist told lawmakers Friday.
Dr. Michael Baden observed the second autopsy performed
on 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson on Monday in Tampa. He
was there on behalf of Anderson's family, who disputes the
original autopsy, which found the boy died of complications
of sickle cell trait, a usually benign blood disorder many
blacks have.
Speaking by telephone from New York, Baden told the House
Criminal Justice Committee that Anderson did not die of
natural causes.
"He can't breathe, he can't get oxygen," he said. "When
he leaves on that stretcher, he's already mostly brain
dead."
Surveillance-camera videotape of the altercation at the
Panama City boot camp has led some legislators and others to
call for the closure of juvenile boot camps. A prosecutor is
investigating.
Anderson collapsed while doing exercises during his first
day at the camp. The Bay County sheriff's office, which runs
the camp, has said the guards were trying to get him to
participate after he became uncooperative.
Baden said someone pressed on Anderson's back while he
was on the ground - which could have kept him from breathing
- and that a guard could be seen holding a hand over the
boy's mouth.
"They did that, according to their report, so that he
could inhale the ammonia that they were forcing up his nose"
to revive him, Baden said.
He said hospital reports showed that an emergency room
monitor indicated severe brain damage when he arrived.
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(AP) Hundreds of people gather for a
candlelight vigil in remembrance of
14-year-old Martin Lee...
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Committee chairman Gus Barreiro said he wants Dr. Charles
Siebert, who conducted the first autopsy, to appear before
the panel.
Siebert, medical examiner for the district that includes
Panama City, issued a statement Thursday saying, "I stand
behind my findings." He added, however, that he welcomed
"the opportunity to review the findings and conclusions of
the second autopsy."
Siebert also said it's not unheard of for medical experts
to come to different conclusions after reviewing the same
case. He complained he has been subject to "baseless and
mean-spirited accusations from special interest groups"
calling for everything from revoking his license to criminal
charges.
Siebert and Baden attended the second autopsy conducted
by Dr. Vernard Adams, the district medical examiner in
Tampa. Also there was Hillsborough County State Attorney
Mark Ober, who was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to investigate
the death.
No guards have been arrested or fired. The camp no longer
houses any juveniles and is being closed.
Baden told the committee it may be several weeks before
official results of the second autopsy are released. Tissue
samples from the body are still undergoing laboratory tests.
