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Darryl Thompson
Died November 18, 2006
Tryon School
Darryl talked in the bathroom,
saying he wanted his recreation back. It had been taken away
from the children
for days. He persisted and staff placed
him in a restraint hold at 9:10 a.m. By 10:25 a.m. he was
pronounced dead at the hospital. The staff had grabbed him
from behind and wrestled him to the ground.
One staff lay
across Thompson's arms and back and handcuffed him, while
the other lay across his feet and legs.
... state's Office of Children and Family Services, which operates
Tryon
Articles:
2/21/07 -
Tyron teen's death ruled homicide
2/21/07 -
No sign of force
in teen's death
2/20/07 - New Information
Released in Teen Death at Fulton Co. Youth Facility
Tryon Teen's Death Ruled Homicide
February 21, 2007
After months of waiting, we now
know why a juvenile offender died at the Tryon School last November
18th.
15-year-old Darryl Thompson
apparently died from cardiac arrhythmia, brought on in part by an
existing condition. But the coroner says it was also brought on by
stress from an altercation involving two Tryon youth aids who
restrained Thompson after he pushed one of the men.
Fulton County District Attorney
Louis Sira tells NEWS10's Tracy Egan that the medical examiner
concluded Thompson had a hidden heart condition that triggered an
irregular beat when he got in an altercation with youth aid John P.
Johnson - allegedly after Thompson would not stop complaining about
the loss of "REC," or recreation privileges.
"In other words, one person may
engage in the same type of conduct, and not have a cardiac
arrhythmia, and not die as a result," Sira says.
The D.A. says it appears that the
two youth aids - Robert Murphy, about 5'-10", 180-pounds, and
Johnson, 6-feet tall, weighing 220-pounds - were following
procedures when they took down and restrained the 15-year-old, who
was 5'-8" and weighed 140-pounds.
Sira says once the youth was
handcuffed, Johnson and Murphy backed off, and left him resting on
his side with other staffers - Thompson apparently still talking.
"I don't want to call it a tirade,
but a verbal ranting of not getting the REC and wanting the REC,"
Sira says.
The D.A. would not predict whether
a grand jury that starts hearing evidence in this case in April will
bring any charges, but the subject did come up Tuesday morning when
she spoke to Darryl Thompson's mother, who does not expect the two
men will face any charges.
The Fulton County Grand Jury will
examine the evidence in April, and make the final determination on
charges. In the meantime, Murphy and Johnson continue on paid leave.
No sign of force in teen's death
February 21, 2007
By Dan Higgins
Heart abnormality found in autopsy
of 15-year-old who died in youth facility, but charges still
possible
PERTH -- A medical examiner found
no signs of excessive force on the body of a Bronx teenager who died
in November in a state youth facility.
But a grand jury will still
consider charges against workers at the Tryon Residential Center for
Boys, who placed the 15-year-old in a restraining hold.
Fulton County District Attorney
Louise K. Sira said Darryl Thompson's death was probably the result
of an undiagnosed heart ailment aggravated by stress from a clash
with aides on the morning of Nov. 16.
But whether any crime was committed
will be up to the grand jury, which will probably meet in April,
Sira said.
"There was no intentional murder
here," Sira said. "But we know there was a stressful event, and
there were other people involved. We did have an altercation with
the YDAs and that was a contributory factor."
Thompson, who had been at the
secure facility since March, had a slight heart abnormality that was
discovered during the autopsy. It may have led to the irregular
heartbeat that began minutes after he pushed youth division aide
John P. Johnson in a bathroom and was restrained, according to
witnesses.
The episode started when Johnson
and another guard told the teenager to stop complaining about being
punished.
After he pushed the guard, Thompson
was immediately restrained by Johnson and Robert Murphy, who lay
across Thompson's back and legs, and then handcuffed him on the
bathroom floor.
Within five minutes, Thompson
stopped breathing. He died a little over an hour later.
Sira read the results of medical
examiner Dr. Michael Sikirica's autopsy Tuesday with the permission
of Thompson's mother, Anntwanisha Thompson of the Bronx.
A synopsis prepared by Sira's
office shows how a common altercation turned quickly into a
life-and-death situation. It also illustrates how violence and
physical force are routine inside youth detention facilities:
On the weekend of Nov. 16, the 23
residents of Tryon's Briarwood cottage, a secure dormitory on the
facility's campus, were being punished for "disrespectful behavior."
This was the third day that none of the boys, who ranged in age from
12 to 16, were allowed any kind of recreation: no sports, card games
or television.
At 8:55 that morning, Murphy led a
group of five youths, including Thompson, into a bathroom, where
they could wash and brush their teeth. No talking is allowed in the
bathrooms, in order to prevent verbal scrapes from turning physical
in a room where slippery floors and hard surfaces can make a small
scuffle hazardous.
Thompson, though, began complaining
about the lack of diversions, according to witness reports.
"I want my rec," he said
repeatedly, among other reported statements. Murphy told him to stop
talking, but Thompson persisted.
Johnson then entered the bathroom
and also told the 15-year-old to stop talking. Thompson responded by
pushing Johnson, who was knocked off balance but didn't fall to the
ground.
A third employee, who was not
identified, called a "Code White,' the call for backup among staff
members.
At 9:10, Johnson and Murphy put
Thompson in a restraining hold. Murphy grabbed him from behind and
wrestled him to the ground. Murphy lay across Thompson's arms and
back and handcuffed him, while Johnson lay across his feet and legs.
"At this point, Thompson was alert
and breathing, and beginning to calm down," Sira said.
At 9:15 a.m., the third employee
tried to get Thompson to stand up to take him to a separate room,
where he could calm down further and be lectured about what
happened. That's when they discovered he wasn't breathing.
A nurse and physician's assistant
arrived within five minutes, and ambulance was on the scene 10
minutes later.
From the moment he was discovered
with no pulse, someone was trying to perform CPR and revive
Thompson, Sira said. Treatment included attempting to shock his
heart back into a normal rhythm, but he was never stabilized.
He was placed in an ambulance and
rushed to St. Mary's Hospital in Gloversville, where he was
pronounced dead at 10:25.
The autopsy was performed the same
day. A routine toxicology test showed no sign of drugs in Thompson's
system.
When the grand jury meets in April,
it will consider indicting Murphy and Johnson, but could also
consider whether the facility's procedures or methods of restraint
led to Thompson's death. They could also decide that no crime was
committed.
Brian Marchetti, a spokesman for
the state's Office of Children and Family Services, which operates
Tryon, said it is still conducting its own internal investigation.
Murphy and Johnson remain on paid leave, pending the outcome of the
internal and criminal probes, he said.
"OCFS takes the safety of any child
in our care very seriously," he said. "Any type of misconduct is
inexcusable and totally unacceptable."
He said that following the
investigations, the agency would look at its procedures to see if
any changes need to be made.
The autopsy results come less than
a week after 13-year-old Jonathan Carey, an autistic and mentally
retarded resident of the O.D. Heck Developmental Center in
Niskayuna, died after he was allegedly placed in an improper hold.
Two workers are accused of driving
Carey in their van to run errands for 90 minutes, after he stopped
breathing, before seeking medical help. Both are charged with
manslaughter.
On Tuesday, the New York Civil
Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union called for
reforms in the state's youth correctional facilities. The groups
cited a 2006 report released by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch,
which said there was little oversight of guards at residential
centers like Tryon, which led to widespread abuses and frequent,
unchecked physical punishment.
Marchetti said before Thompson's
death in November, the agency had begun installing more video
cameras and updating its monitoring system to prevent abuses.
Dan Higgins can be reached at
454-5523, or by e-mail at dhiggins@timesunion.com.
New Information Released in Teen
Death at Fulton Co. Youth Facility
Feb 20, 2007
By: Walt McClure
The incident happened at the Tryon
Residential Facility in Perth, Fulton County last November 18. The
Fulton County District Attorney says 15-year old Darryl Thompson of
The Bronx died because of a heart abnormality made worse by the
stress of an altercation with staff.
Louise Sira goes on to say that the
medical examiner says no one could have known about the heart
problem, but despite that is classifying the death as a homicide.
The classification is homicide
because it was the only applicable manner the medical examiner could
put forth in this case -- although that does not necessarily mean
that either of the two aides who restrained Thompson will be
charged.
Louise Sira/Fulton County District
Attorney: “The youth was taken to the floor and continued to
physically and verbally struggle.”
Fulton County DA Louise Sira runs
through the timeline of events that led to the death of 15-year old
Darryl Thompson after an altercation in a bathroom at the Tryon
Residential Facility in Perth last November.
Sira says Thompson was complaining
that recreation time had been taken away and had pushed one of two
youth aides on duty at the time, leading them to put him into a
restraint hold.
That restraint was followed by what
is called a code white call for assistance from other staffers.
Soon after, though, Thompson was
not responsive and had to be taken to the hospital, where he was
declared dead.
Louise Sira: “The cause of death at
this time is determined to be a cardiac arrythmia due to stress
reaction following an altercation with juvenile detention staff or
staffs. No evidence of excessive force or restraint is noted at
autopsy examination.”
That arrythmia was caused by a
heart abnormality the medical examiner says would not be found in a
normal physical -- in fact would not be seen without looking at the
heart itself.
The medical examiner has classified
Thompson's death as a homicide based on a medical interpretation,
not a legal one.
The two aides, John Johnson and
Robert Murphy, have been on paid administrative leave since the
incident happened.
An Office of Children and Family
Services spokesperson says the office has and will cooperate with
the investigation, and will do its own review to take steps to keep
this from happening in the future.
The next step in this case is to
take it to a grand jury, which can decide to file charges or to
issue a report.
Louise Sira: “They will consider
all of the facts and circumstances in this case and they will review
all of the many things that have been brought out and brought to the
media's attention and to my attention that have come up in the
course of the investigation.”
Louise Sira says she spoke with
Darryl Thompson's mother for the first time this morning -- after
dealing with an intermediary since November.
She says the mother was overwhelmed
by all of the medical information she gave her, and did not say
anything about her feelings about the investigation.
The case is expected to go to the
grand jury in April.
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