Natasha McKenna
Natasha McKenna, a 37-year-old Black woman who had schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, died in February 2015 after a struggle with deputies who were moving her from her cell at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center in Virginia. Her mother, Claire Wilson, and her young daughter have pursued justice for her, and she was remembered as a basketball player at W.T. Woodson High School. Deputies used a stun gun on her several times while she was restrained, and she lost consciousness and died days later. The county medical examiners ruled the death an accident and attributed it to excited delirium, with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as contributing factors. The family has sued the sheriff's office, alleging excessive force and inadequate training for people in mental crisis, while the commonwealth's attorney found no crime and called the death a tragic accident, and a federal civil rights investigation was opened.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). The county medical examiner and prosecutor Ray Morrogh attribute her death to excited delirium and call it an accident, while her family's lawsuit alleges deputies used excessive force, including Taser shots during a cell extraction.
Reported by: Fairfax County medical examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Morrogh; Fairfax County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held her); her family's lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her family sued the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office, alleging excessive force and inadequate training for people in mental crisis, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.