FAIRFAX, Va. (AP/WTOP) — Medical examiners have not yet determined a cause of death for a Fairfax County jail inmate who died after being restrained and subdued with a stun gun.
Police issued an update Monday on their investigation into the death last month of 37-year-old Natasha McKenna.
Sheriff’s deputies say they used an emergency-response team to remove McKenna from her cell because she had previously assaulted a deputy.
Police say McKenna resisted deputies, who then used a stun gun and restraints to control her during the transfer. Deputies later saw she was in medical distress and took her to the hospital. She died five days later.
On Monday, police said the sheriff’s office is cooperating with the investigation, and that they are awaiting a ruling on the cause of death.
Fairfax County Police say they’ve conducted dozens of interviews in the case.
“Our investigators have spoken with more than 50 people,” Fairfax County Police Officer Shelley Broderick tells WTOP. “That would include people such as sheriff’s deputies who were actually involved in the incident, other inmates who may have been witnesses at the jail at the time this incident occurred, and the medical staff with the sheriff’s office.”
Broderick says there is video evidence in the case, but it is not being released yet.
“That cannot be released to the public right now, until there’s a determination on whether or not there is a crime.”
WTOP’s Michelle Basch contributed to this report.
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