In January, 33-year-old Turrell Clay died not long after being arrested by Phoenix police. An autopsy report released on Aug. 8 — seven months after Clay’s death — pins the blame on the supposedly “less-lethal” weapons that police used to subdue him.
Clay was arrested on Jan. 10 after police pursued him through a Maryvale neighborhood because of an outstanding parole violation. He eventually settled on the roof of a home and refused to come down, leading several officers to fire weapons that launch 37-millimeter plastic batons meant to obtain “pain compliance.” Clay was eventually pulled off the roof, dogpiled by cops and handcuffed.
Paramedics from the Phoenix Fire Department checked Clay’s vitals and cleared him at the scene, according to the autopsy report, but Clay began complaining of chest pains while being transported in the back of a police vehicle. He was driven to a hospital, where he told doctors that the pain felt “like a tank on his chest.” Hours after he was arrested, he died while doctors were attempting a surgical procedure to save his life…