Internal review board recommends changes in wake of Hulon death in Lansing lockup

LANSING –A Lansing police internal review found no clear misconduct by officers involved in the death of Anthony Hulon in the city's lockup early last year but suggested changes that might help the department do better in similar situations.

 "All LPD personnel involved in this incident conducted themselves professionally and with compassion for the decedent, Anthony Hulon, who was clearly in crisis," the board said in a report released Friday.

Regardless, the board found "several deficiencies in preparedness, communication and cooperation ... that were not in line with the mission and goals of the LPD."

The report comes about six months after the Michigan Attorney General's Office announced it would not seek charges against officers involved in Hulon's April 2020 death.

Hulon, 54, died after officers handcuffed him and pinned him to the floor after he began acting erratically. Hulon had been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence following an altercation with his roommate.

Attorney General Dana Nessel said criminal charges were not warranted, saying the officers "did what they were supposed to do under the circumstances."

An attorney for the family did not immediately return a phone message left for her by the State Journal on Friday.

Board found 'deficiencies' in preparedness, communication

The police department's Internal Board of Review included nine top command officers, including current Interim Chief Ellery Sosebee, who was a captain when the review began.

The panel found "deficiencies in preparedness, communication and cooperation" and recommended changes to improve officers' handling of similar situations in the future.

Specifically, it recommended more training for all officers and detention officers "focused on broadening awareness and mitigation of health risks an arrested person may be experiencing."

It also proposed that all detention officers with at least one year of experience receive emergency medical technician training and specific training in the areas of positional asphyxia and excited delirium, both of which were factors in Hulon's death.

The training should involve the Lansing Fire Department and local hospital staff, who would also review medical-related procedures in the detection facility.

Other recommendations:

• Upgrade the lockup's video system to improve safety and mitigate risk;
• Provide more de-escalation training for detention staff concerning combative detainees, medical emergencies, use of restraints and "confirming and documenting the medical status of arrested persons ...";
• Include the police department's social worker in leadership and training meetings for detention facility staff "to enhance the awareness of staff regarding interacting with and managing inmates." 
• The police department should work with the fire department to train a detention command officer as an AED trainer for lockup staff;
• The police department should consider upgrading equipment, some of which is older than 20 years;
• Provide Drug Recognition Expert training to command officers in the detention facility so staff could better evaluate whether arrestees are under the influence.

The review board also recommended various policy changes, including guidelines about when to hospitalize a detainee and the potential use of an outside therapist before detaining somebody when mental health issues are present.

It also said the detention unit could "enhance" its method for checking cells when certain medical or safety concerns are present. It also recommended that all detainees be placed in belly chains when they are taken to a hospital.

Drugs, 'positional asphyxia' involved in death

A medical examiner ruled the cause of Hulon's death as positional asphyxia and his manner of death as homicide, a death certificate shows. That document became public when Hulon's sister filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city in October.

An autopsy showed Hulon had amphetamines and methamphetamines in his system.

The AG said there was evidence Hulon may have "unknowingly ingested a dangerous substance lanced in the drugs that affected his behavior." The AG's review also noted that the medical examiner said Hulon had "hypertensive and atherosclerotic disease, which contributed to his death."

Hulon repeatedly told officers he couldn't breathe while they tried to restrain him in the jail, according to video released by attorneys for Hulon's family.

He also said "I'm passing out" as he yelled and struggled against the officers, the jail cell video shows.

In announcing her decision in April, Nessel said the officers acted in accordance with the department's policy regarding use of restraints and restraint methods. The policy did not, however, specify restraint methods for individuals under the influence of drugs.

Nessel declined to comment on the efficacy of the police department's policies. 

"Whether or not that is a good policy, or there could be a better policy, that is a different discussion," she said in April. "In terms of whether or not the officers were grossly negligent, there has to be a determination: Were they doing exactly what they were instructed to do and in the Hulon case the answer to that, we believe, is yes."

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The internal review panel said Hulon "displayed behavior consistent with some form of delirium." That type of behavior continued after a hospital cleared him to return to the lockup, they said. 

In its report, the board also said the medical examiner's finding of homicide as Hulon's manner of death is not the same as the legal term used by prosecutors and judges.

"The medical term does not address the actors' intent, or issues of legal justification or mitigation, all of which are critical in determining criminal culpability," the report said.

All in all, "the board’s consensus was some things need to be improved but there were a lot of things done very well," the report said.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.