Tommie Dale McGlothen
Tommie McGlothen Jr., 44, had been off his medication for a couple of months, and his family called Shreveport police on the day of his death asking for help getting him care. According to video, officers used a Taser and a baton on him and placed him in the back of a patrol car, where the coroner said he was left unsupervised for 48 minutes before he was found unresponsive. Caddo Parish coroner Todd Thoma ruled the death natural, citing heart disease and what he called excited delirium, and said it could possibly have been prevented with medical care. Prosecutors charged four officers with negligent homicide and malfeasance in office, and a judge acquitted them in June 2022, while the state's forensic pathologist called the death a homicide. The family has filed a civil lawsuit over his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The Caddo Parish coroner ruled the death natural from excited delirium and heart disease, while the state's forensic pathologist called it a homicide, the family's attorney says officers beat and Tased him, and prosecutors say officers left him unsupervised in a patrol car for 48 minutes without proper medical attention.
Reported by: Caddo Parish coroner Todd Thoma (medical examiner or coroner); the state's forensic pathologist (medical examiner or coroner); the family's attorney and lawsuit (family or their lawyers); prosecutors; cellphone and dash cam footage reported by KTLA and the Shreveport Times (reporters).
Lawsuit: His family filed a civil lawsuit over his death.
Sources (6)
- Videos of Black men dying or being beaten in custody surface in Oklahoma, Louisiana
- Video appears to show Louisiana police punch, tase black man who died
- Another black man who died in custody told officers, ‘I can’t breathe.’ One responded, ‘I don’t care.’
- KSLA discovers dash cam video that gives clearer picture of what happened to Tommie McGlothen, Jr.
- Ruling date changed for officers allegedly involved in Tommie McGlothen’s death
- All 4 SPD officers acquitted in death of Tommie McGlothen