Tommie McGlothen Jr.
Tommie McGlothen Jr., 44, died in Shreveport, Louisiana, in April 2020 after an encounter with police. Sources say officers used Tasers, mace and nightsticks on him and left him in the back of a patrol car for 48 minutes before finding him unresponsive. He was taken to a hospital and died there the next day, April 6. The Caddo Parish coroner, Dr. Todd Thoma, attributed the death to excited delirium with underlying heart disease and said it could possibly have been prevented with medical care. The family's attorney has demanded that the officers be fired and prosecuted, and the four officers were placed on leave while the district attorney questioned the quality of the police investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner ruled the death natural from heart disease and excited delirium, but his family's attorney says officers beat and Tased him and left him unsupervised in a patrol car for 48 minutes while he deteriorated, and cellphone footage published by KTLA shows force by officers.
Reported by: Caddo Parish coroner Todd Thoma (medical examiner or coroner); his family's attorney (family or their lawyers); KTLA cellphone footage and reporting (reporters).