Posted on 05/05/2006 7:04:09 PM PDT by Diverdogz
(CNN) -- A teenager who died at a Florida boot camp was suffocated by guards who were restraining him, a medical examiner has determined. The teen's mother hailed the findings, saying "the truth is out," but a lawyer for one of the guards accused the examiner of giving in to political pressure. Martin Lee Anderson, 14, died in January after he was restrained and struck by workers at the boot camp for juvenile offenders. No charges have been filed in connection with Anderson's death. Initial autopsy results in February had determined Anderson died from complications from sickle cell trait, which had not been previously diagnosed in the teenage athlete. Hillsborough County Chief Medical Examiner Vernard I. Adams conducted a second autopsy after Anderson's family, other medical experts and civil rights leaders balked at the conclusion of the first examination. "Martin Anderson's death was caused by suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp," Adams wrote. "The suffocation was caused by manual occlusion of the mouth, in concert with forced inhalation of ammonia fumes that caused spasm of the vocal cords resulting in internal blockage of the upper airway."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
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