Woman kicked out of Florida hospital by police for refusing to leave after she was discharged dies

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
escorted her back into 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 in a phone interview.
He said the dashcam footage from the
officer's car does not show the incident but
does pick up the audio.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials
have been called in to investigate, department
spokesman Steve Arthur said. He declined to
comment further.
The Tallahassee Democrat reported that Ruth
Attaway, administrator and CEO of the 25-bed
hospital, said staff did everything they could for
Dawson.
"They did their best trying to save her,"
Attaway said. "Our staff was very
aggressive with her treatment."
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 most reasonable thing to do is to let
her sit there and be able to settle down
until she felt well. Instead, she is forcibly
removed and put in cuffs," Parks said. "The
early facts of this case should cause a
great concern for everyone."
The Calhoun-Liberty County chapter of the
NAACP held an emergency meeting Tuesday. Dale
R. Landry, who is the regional vice president for
the Florida State chapter of the NAACP, met with
local leaders and the family.
Landry said he and others are glad state law
enforcement officers are getting involved, "but we
strongly believe the death was due to negligence
by the police department and hospital."
The incident comes amid increased scrutiny of
police treatment of blacks in the wake of 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 and is on
his regularly scheduled days off.