Police Use of Force and Accountability

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Bristol, Tennessee, police officers and paramedics of using excessive force and denying medical care to 23‑year‑old Austin Hunter Turner while he was having a seizure in 2017, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired before his mother filed suit in 2024. The judge sided with the city and first responders, who argued that because Turner’s mother, Karen Goodwin, witnessed officers using force during the incident, she had one year from that day under Tennessee law to bring her claims. Goodwin’s attorneys contend that an official autopsy blaming "multiple drug toxicity" and the absence of body‑camera footage in the record effectively concealed restraint‑induced asphyxia as the true cause, and say they did not learn this until AP reporters surfaced body‑cam video in 2023 and a forensic pathologist reviewed it; they plan to appeal, arguing families should get more time when they reasonably could not discover the real cause of death. The lawsuit says the video contradicts police accounts, showing Turner face‑down, handcuffed, shackled, with a spit sock over his head while officers and paramedics put significant pressure on his head and upper back, even though he was in the midst of a seizure and not punching or kicking. The case, one of more than 1,000 deaths identified by an Associated Press‑led investigation that followed use of force supposedly designed to be non‑lethal, underscores how delayed access to body‑camera footage and disputed autopsy findings can determine whether families ever get a hearing on the merits in federal court.

A newly released report from Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott finds that after Bridgeport police shot 39‑year‑old Dyshan Best in the back on March 31, 2025, the first ambulance dispatched to the scene was diverted to transport a white officer having a "mild anxiety attack," forcing Best, who is Black and bleeding from severe internal injuries, to wait roughly 10 extra minutes for a second ambulance. Prescott concluded the shooting itself was legally justified because Best was armed and the pursuing officer reasonably feared for her safety, but highlighted troubling details about the post‑shooting response, including paramedics’ notes that police rushed them to "take their partner" and provided no information about the officer’s condition. Officer Erin Perrotta, described as "visibly hysterical" and covered in blood, reportedly declined treatment in the ambulance, saying "I am fine, I just needed to get out of here," while Best arrived at the hospital around 6:22 p.m. and died at 7:41 p.m. from a wound that damaged his liver and kidney. The report does not state whether the delay contributed to Best’s death, but his family says they believe he might have survived with faster transport and are calling the case a murder, as Bridgeport police launch an internal affairs review and Perrotta remains on administrative leave in an unrelated matter. The incident is fueling renewed scrutiny of how police prioritize medical care after shootings, racial disparities in treatment, and the degree to which state oversight bodies are willing to question life‑or‑death decisions made at chaotic scenes.