The death of a black man in the custody of four white Chattanooga Police officers has been ruled a homicide in an autopsy report from the Hamilton County Medical Examiner.
Dr. Frank King said Leslie Vaughn Prater died from positional asphyxiation. He said he had numerous bruises and abrasions, broken ribs, a dislocated left arm, a fractured left shoulder and bruisers to the scrotial wall.
Police spokesman Craig Joel said the homicide ruling does not mean it is a murder case. He said city detectives Mike Mathis and Mike Tilly are carrying out a homicide investigation, and there is a parallel internal affairs probe.
Officer Joel said there was no damage to the neck or throat of the victim, and he said the report says use of cocaine and alcohol, a heart problem and mild obesity all played a part in the death.
"This person never stopped resisting. We had to fight this person and do what we could to restrain him. It was a tremendous battle," Officer Joel said.
He said the autopsy report "does not come as a shock to the investigators."
He said he could not say when the probes may be concluded.
Officer Joel said the homicide investigation will be reviewed by the TBI and the federal Department of Justice.
He said the four officers were off duty for seven days, but have been on the force since.
Mr. Prater's parents recently held a press conference charging that their son died unnecessarily while in police custody and his death was part of a pattern of police brutality in Chattanooga.
His mother, Dr. Loretta Prater, said, "Leslie loved life. He was always smiling and happy. He was not trying to fight the police. He was only trying to live."
John Wolfe, attorney for the Prater family, said a state autopsy found that asphyxiation contributed to the death of the 37-year-old man on Central Avenue on Jan. 2.
He said the autopsy by state medical examiner Dr. Bruce Levy showed the victim had six broken ribs and a broken left arm.
Police said they responded to a report of a naked man out in the street, and they said they had to restrain Mr. Prater.
Dr. Prater, who is a dean at Southwest Missouri College, said the four officers involved in the case should still be on leave. The officers are Daniel Anderson, Johnathan Mance, Gregory Chambers and Keith Hudgins.
She said the case should be expedited, but police officials earlier said it will take 6-12 months to investigate.
Dr. Prater said Chattanooga "is a valley of death for many unarmed citizens, especially African-American males." She said the city is #1 for police brutality in citizens of 200,000 or less and #7 overall.
She said, "This is not a place of prominence that citizens should embrace with pride."
Dr. Prater said city police still use pepper spray and hogtying techniques. She said at least 70 people in the U.S. have died due to pepper spray. She said hogtying can lead to death by positional asphyxia.