TALLAHASSEE — A woman who collapsed after police arrested her for refusing to leave a Florida hospital when doctors discharged her died from a blood clot in her lung, officials said Wednesday.
Police say Barbara Dawson, 57, collapsed Monday while being escorted in handcuffs from the Liberty Calhoun Hospital, where she went for treatment for breathing difficulties. She was arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing when she refused to leave, according to police.
In a statement Wednesday, Blountstown police Chief Mark Mallory said the medical examiner’s office in Panama City found that Dawson died from a blood clot due to being excessively overweight.
The autopsy report, police report, and dashcam footage of the incident have not been released.
Mallory said the officer who arrested Dawson removed the handcuffs after she collapsed and took her back to the hospital.
‘‘We were told by a doctor once she got back in the hospital that her vital signs were good and it was their decision to readmit her,’’ he said, adding that dashcam footage from a cruiser does not show the incident but picks up the audio.
Hospital officials did not return telephone calls from The Associated Press. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that Ruth Attaway, administrator and CEO of the 25-bed hospital, said staff did everything they could for Dawson.
While doctors initially thought Dawson was stable and should be released, she felt as if she still had breathing issues and wanted to stay, said Tallahassee attorney Daryl Parks, who is representing Dawson’s family.
The incident comes amid increased scrutiny of police treatment of black people after several high-profile police-involved deaths. Dawson was black, the family’s lawyer said. Mallory said the officer who arrested her is a white man.