An independent review of medical records for Brianna Grier indicated the young Black mother died of blunt force trauma to the head some time after she was arrested by police.
The review was requested by Grier’s parents, who are being represented by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump. The analysis was conducted by Dr. Allecia Wilson, director of autopsy and forensic services at the University of Michigan.
The expert’s findings, shared at a press conference on Monday, indicated the 28-year-old woman suffered two separate skull fractures, on the back and side of her head, on the night she fell out of a moving police vehicle.
Wilson said Grier also had internal hemorrhages and swelling of the brain so severe it shifted from one side of the skull to the other.
The injury happened after the woman was taken into custody on July 15. Mary Grier, Brianna’s mother, called authorities for help the night of July 14 because Brianna was experiencing a mental health crisis. Two deputies responded to the home just after midnight and detained Brianna. She was handcuffed and placed into a sheriff’s vehicle without a seatbelt.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Brianna’s hands were handcuffed in front of her and the rear passenger-side door was not shut. The deputies drove a short distance before Brianna fell out of the moving vehicle.
Brianna died on July 21 after she was in a coma for several days.
The GBI reportedly said Brianna’s body would be transported to the their crime lab for an autopsy. Those results have not been released, and the agency said the case remains under investigation.
More about the arrest and investigation can be found here.
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