AG: Mount Vernon PD Did Not Cause Death of Woman in Custody

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video contains images some may consider disturbing.

Employees of the Mount Vernon Police Department did not cause the death of a woman who was ill and in custody.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the findings of his investigation into the death of Raynette Turner at a press conference Thursday.

“There is no criminal culpability into the death,” he said, adding that there were areas of real problems and areas in need of reform.

Turner, 42, had been arrested for shoplifting and was in jail for a couple of days while waiting to be arraigned.

A prison attendant found her unresponsive during the afternoon of July 2 and she was pronounced dead.

The medical examiner found Turner’s death was caused by an enlarged heart. Also, chronic cocaine and morphine use had contributed to her death.

Schneiderman was appointed a special prosecutor by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his office’s Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit undertook the investigation into Turner’s death.

Schneiderman said records from the Westchester County Medical Examiner, video footage including of Turner’s cell, interviews of more than 40 witnesses and Turner’s medical records before and during her confinement were scrutinized.

The report, which can be accessed here, said that “the only conceivable theory for a homicide prosecution would be that MVPD employees failed to provide necessary medical care to Ms. Turner and that this failure resulted in her death.”

Schneiderman’s office released a video that shows approximately the last half hour Turner was alive and then what police department personnel did after finding her unresponsive.

Among the recommendations the report made include implementing video-facilitated arraignments, updating policies to require in-person checks of arrestees and the expansion of the department’s fingerprinting capabilities.

Photo caption: Raynette Turner leaving her cell at one point while in custody. Photo credit: NY Attorney General's Office.