Tape shows teen restrained at boot camp before dying
PANAMA CITY, Florida (AP) -- Authorities released a video tape Friday showing guards restraining a boy at a juvenile detention boot camp just hours before he died.
The parents of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson believe the footage, from a boot camp security camera, will show that guards beat their son to death. They were viewing the 1-hour, 20-minute tape at their lawyer's office in Tallahassee as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement made it public.
Two legislators who have seen the tape said Anderson was brutally beaten and kicked before he died January 6. They described an out-of-control situation, with guards punching and choking Anderson even as he went limp.
Anderson's family alleges he was beaten by guards on his first day at the boot camp. A medical examiner determined this week that the teen died from a blood disorder -- not from any injuries suffered in a beating.
News organizations had sued for the tape to be made public. The FDLE planned to release it when its investigation was complete, but said Friday it changed plans "due to compelling public interest and speculation as to its contents."
"The viewing of this will result in many questions, concerns and accusations," said Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen.
Anderson entered the camp January 5 because of a probation violation. He complained of breathing difficulties and collapsed during exercises that were part of the entry process. He died the next day at a Pensacola hospital.
The county sheriff's office, which runs the camp, said Anderson was restrained after he became uncooperative.
County Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Siebert said the boy's body had some bruises and abrasions, but he attributed them to attempts to resuscitate the youth.
Siebert said Anderson suffered internal bleeding because he had sickle cell trait, a disorder that caused his red blood cells to change shape and produce "a whole cascade of events" that led to hemorrhaging.
"It was a natural death," he said.
Anderson family attorney Benjamin Crump said he was skeptical of the autopsy results and expressed doubt that the sickle cell trait, if it existed, could cause such extensive damage to the teenager's internal organs.
The Justice Department announced Thursday it would investigate the case, along with the FBI. Federal officials planned to focus on whether camp guards violated Anderson's rights through use of excessive force or indifference to serious medical need.
Anderson was arrested in June for stealing his grandmother's Jeep Cherokee and sent to the boot camp for violating his probation by trespassing at a school.
The boot camp concept for juveniles began in Florida in 1993, and five camps now house about 600 boys ages 14 to 18.
