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Teen suffocated at Florida boot camp: autopsy

Posted on: Friday, 5 May 2006, 15:26 CDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - A 14-year-old boy whose beating by guards at a Florida boot camp was captured on videotape died of suffocation "due to actions of the guards," but not because of the beating, according to a second autopsy released on Friday.

The autopsy found Martin Lee Anderson died because his mouth was blocked and he inhaled ammonia fumes, which resulted in a spasm in his vocal cords and a blockage in his airway.

People who viewed the videotape have said it appeared the guards administered ammonia capsules to try to keep Anderson conscious.

Anderson's death on January 6 at a Panama City juvenile detention camp stirred a storm of controversy when a videotape of the beating was made public and a medical examiner found he died of internal bleeding from sickle cell trait, a previously undiagnosed blood disorder.

That finding, by Bay County Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Siebert, was widely discredited and outraged Anderson's relatives and civil rights groups.

The second autopsy, performed by Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Dr. Vernard Adams, said the beating by the guards left bruises, but did not contribute to Anderson's death.

"Martin Anderson's death was caused by suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp," Adams said in a written statement.

"The suffocation was caused by manual occlusion of the mouth, in concert with forced inhalation of ammonia fumes that caused spasm of the vocal cords resulting in internal blockage of the upper airway."

The medical examiner's statement offered no explanation as to how Anderson inhaled ammonia, which is used in smelling salts to revive unconscious or semi-conscious people.

In March, Dr. Michael Baden, a New York doctor who observed the second autopsy and the videotape, said the guards held ammonia under Anderson's nose and put a hand over his mouth while restraining him.

Adams' autopsy also found that Anderson had sickle cell trait. One in 12 African-Americans has sickle cell trait, which is different from sickle cell disease and does not routinely cause health problems.

Adams and Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober both said they would have no further comment on the autopsy results. The state attorney's office is conducting a criminal investigation of Anderson's death.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he was disturbed by the second autopsy's findings and called the actions of the guards "deplorable."

"We all have one goal, and that is to see justice is served for Martin Lee Anderson," Bush said in a written statement.

Source: REUTERS

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