Rice Lake Death
Called a Homicide
Rice Lake
Jun 9, 2006
The
death of a seven-year-old girl in Rice Lake is now being called a
homicide, but prosecutors say they don't know whether they'll file
criminal charges.
The medical examiner says Angie Arndt
suffocated. She was a patient at a guidance clinic in Rice Lake
when she passed out on May 25th. She died a day later. Prosecutors
say Arndt died because she didn't have enough air after being
restrained by staff members at the clinic. Police say she was
restrained after acting out. The clinic's board of directors says
the girl was held on her stomach as one staff member gripped her
ankles and another held down her shoulders. The board says she
calmed down, was released, and then passed out. The board's
president says that staff members followed proper procedures. The
clinic is urging investigators to take health problems and
medications into consideration that could have played a role in her
death.
Prosecutors say the case is being
called a homicide because it fits the definition -- that her death
was caused by another person, but they say it's unclear whether the
facts meet the criminal definition of homicide.
