'I Can't Breathe': Michigan Youth Facility Staff Charged With Death Of Black Teen

Prosecutors in Kalamazoo county, Michigan have filed charges against three staff members of Lakeside Academy with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse after the choking death of a Black teen in April.

Cornelius Fredericks, 16, died at the youth facility after being restrained for throwing a sandwich. The Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner ruled that his death was a homicide resulting from “restraint asphyxia.”

The teen’s death comes at a time when protests around the country have focused on the deaths of Black citizens under custody following the death of George Floyd in Michigan.

According to charging documents, Lakeside staff members Michael Mosley and Zachary Solis acted in a “grossly negligent manner” when they restrained the teen. Heather McLogan, a nurse at the facility, was accused of failing to act in a timely manner to seek medical help for Fredericks.

Fredericks’ family also filed a civil rights lawsuit at the county circuit courts Monday (June 22).

Tenia Goshay, Fredericks’ aunt, told reporters in a virtual press conference that the family wanted to why it happened to him.

“I’m pretty sure it could’ve been avoided,” Goshay said. “I just need answers and some justice for my nephew. We loved him very, very much.”

John Marko, whose firm is representing Frederick’s family, referenced George Floyd’s death by asphyxiation under police custody.

“[Fredericks] was restrained to death in an action that, from all the evidence, appear similar to how George Floyd was murdered,” Marko said.

Marko also claimed that Fredericks was screaming “I couldn’t breathe” while he was being restrained.

“The evidence that we have and based on the investigation from Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS) is that he was sat on similar to how George Floyd was restrained for 10 minutes,” he said.

Dr. Ted Brown told MLive that Frederick’s died from “complications of him being restrained, on the ground in a supine position by multiple people.”

Brown, who performed the autopsy, said Fredericks’ death was “sequelae to restraint asphyxia.”

Marko said Lakeside Academy and its parent company Sequel Youth and Family Services have not cooperated with him when he asked for documents.

He also said that MDHHS has investigated 30 violations in the facility since 2016. Sequel has operated Lakeside since 2007.

“In a little less than five years, 30 violations have been investigated just at this one Sequel facility,” Marko said.

“We’re seeking answers for the family,” he added. “We want to make sure that this never happens again.”