Death at Youth Camp
Ruled Homicide
JILL YOUNG MILLER, CRAIG SCHNEIDER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 2, 2005
Travis Parker, 13, was pinned to the ground by up to three staffers
on April 20 after he protested when he was denied food as
punishment, according to documents from the Human Resources
Department.
The traumatic death
of a 13-year-old boy after he was physically restrained for about an
hour and a half by camp counselors has been ruled a homicide, White
County District Attorney Stan Gunter said Wednesday.
The autopsy of Travis Parker, whom counselors held face-down on the
ground at a state-operated wilderness camp for troubled boys,
indicates he died because of the restraint, Gunter said.
"The manner in which they performed that restraint is what caused
his problem," the district attorney said in an interview. "For all
practical purposes, his heart stopped and he did not get enough
oxygen to the brain, which led to his death."
Gunter said he would decide whether to pursue criminal charges after
he reviewed a recently completed GBI investigation, of which the
autopsy is a part. The GBI gave the prosecutor seven binders of
documents Friday, including the autopsy report. Gunter declined
Wednesday to release a copy of the report.
"If everything that I've heard about the case matches what I find in
the file, I would say most likely we will pursue criminal charges,"
Gunter said. "But I don't know that yet."
Authorities stressed that the homicide ruling by Dr. Kris Sperry,
the state's chief medical examiner, was a medical determination, not
a criminal charge. It "indicates that the person's death was caused
by the actions of another person or persons," said John Bankhead,
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman.
Family urges charges
Attorney J. Tom Morgan, a former DeKalb County district attorney,
noted that a determination of homicide often results in criminal
charges.
"This is the first step toward criminal charges," said Morgan, who
is not involved in the case. "Most homicides result in criminal
prosecutions of murder or voluntary manslaughter."
Morgan said much would depend on whether the counselors' actions
were found to be reckless or negligent. If they are, the counselors
might be charged with involuntary manslaughter, he said. Even then,
the prosecutor must weigh whether their actions were so grossly
negligent or reckless as to warrant criminal prosecution, or whether
the matter should be resolved in a civil court, Morgan said.
Michael Tyler, the lawyer for Travis' family, said the counselors
should be prosecuted.
"We are strongly urging the district attorney to review the file and
would expect that he would pursue action as warranted by the
evidence," Tyler said.
Gwen Skinner, a top official of the Georgia Department of Human
Resources, which oversees the Appalachian Wilderness Camp, declined
to comment on the autopsy.
Boy was denied inhaler
On April 20, counselors held Travis, who had asthma, on the ground
at the campsite for about an hour and a half, much of the time
face-down, and denied the boy's request for his inhaler, according
to documents from the Human Resources Department.
The Douglas County boy was restrained after he angrily confronted
one of his counselors after being denied food as a punishment,
according to accounts from counselors and boys who witnessed the
incident.
The wilderness camp, which accommodates about 50 boys with
behavioral problems, is in Cleveland, in the North Georgia
mountains.
Travis was restrained by at least three counselors at a time,
witnesses said in reports obtained by The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. He eventually stopped breathing and went limp,
the reports said. He was taken to a hospital and died the next day.
Gunter, the White County district attorney, said it was not clear
from the autopsy how great a role the boy's asthma played in his
death. "The asthma did play a role in his inability to get fully
ventilated," Gunter said. "How much of a role, I don't know."
Agency rules broken
The state fired five camp employees after the incident, Skinner,
director of the DHR's Division of Mental Health, Developmental
Disabilities and Addictive Diseases, said last month.
Skinner said camp employees violated department policy by denying
the boy his inhaler and food. She said some of the employees refused
to take a polygraph test, which "is reason for termination." Skinner
declined to say whether all the fired employees were involved in
restraining the boy.
The fired staff members are Phillip Elliott, Torbin Vining, Paul
Binford, Matt Desing and Ryan Chapman, according to the DHR. The
agency declined to provide further identifying information on the
fired employees, such as ages and hometowns. Repeated efforts to
reach the five for comment have been unsuccessful.
Rick Ryczek, a lawyer for Desing, said his client had cooperated
with investigators. "I've instructed my client not to make any
[public] statements at this time," Ry-czek said.
In addition to the Cleveland wilderness camp, the DHR runs an
outdoor therapeutic program for troubled children in Warm Springs.
Skinner said Wednesday the agency had retrained staff at both camps
in the use of restraints.
Skinner said the state does not permit face-down restraints — and
didn't before the boy's death.
Officials are reviewing the use of restraints, she said, and expect
to have results within 90 days.
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