Daughter of woman who collapsed in custody: Police did not mishandle my mom
The daughter of a woman who stopped breathing while in Indianapolis police custody said the officers' actions did not cause her mother's death.
"I think it was her health that caused it mostly," D’Asia Montgomery told IndyStar. "I’m against police brutality. I’m for Black Lives Matter. Nobody should be mishandled. But I don’t feel like they mishandled my mom."
Five officers have been on administrative leave since Eleanor Northington, 43, collapsed at a northeast-side church on Feb. 6. She was removed from life support on Feb. 8.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Bryan Roach said a preliminary autopsy found no traumatic injuries on Northington's body.
"Nothing I have seen would indicate that our officers did anything wrong," Roach said, noting the department is likely to return the officers to regular duty very soon.
'They were trying to get her to calm down'
Northington, 43, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, her daughter told IndyStar.
"They were trying to get her to calm down and she just started fighting the police and resisting and hitting them," Montgomery, 21, said. "When the police came, she started running, and they just wanted her to sit down."
Northington was in throes of a violent mental health crisis on the night the police were called to Mt. Calvary Apostolic Church, 6635 E. 42nd St., according to police and her daughter.
She had been fighting, spitting and acting out.
An off-duty IMPD officer who happened to be a member of the department behavioral health unit worships at the church and was present. He unsuccessfully tried to calm her, Roach said, before she started assaulting other church members.
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Officers arrived and Northington kept punching, kicking and spitting, Roach said. A church member loosely placed a cloth on her face during the struggle to prevent her from spitting, Roach said.
Police: Officers did not use stun guns
Officers had finally secured her wrists with three sets of handcuffs when Roach said she began taking heavy, labored breaths.
The cloth came off her face easily, Roach said. Officers also removed the cuffs and began CPR.
Officers had already called for an ambulance to take Northington to the hospital for a mental-health evaluation. Roach said they made a new call advising the medics she was experiencing a medical emergency.
Police wrestled with Northington, Roach said, but never used their Tasers and did not return any of her punches.
"My mom was in a different mental state," Montgomery said. "She wasn’t all the way in her right mind."
Her death came as a shock to Montgomery.
"When she left, it wasn’t real to me," she said. "It still doesn’t feel completely real, but I’ve come to a point now where I’ve come to accept it. I know she’s in a better place."
Contact IndyStar reporter Crystal Hill at 317-444-6094 or cnhill@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @crysnhill.
Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at 317-444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @VicRyc.
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